Warped Perceptions
by sadistic lunatic
Summary: AU NarutoClaymore crossover. Several changes in the past and in comes a new Uzumaki Naruto. But is he really that new? Super!Naruto but not God!Naruto. NarutoYugito most likely but possibly onesided!Harem later . . .
1. Sealed Sword Frenzy

**Disclaimer: **

You've guessed it. I don't own Naruto. If I did, well . . . things'd change. I also do not own Claymore. If I did . . . well, things'd also change.

**Author's Note: **

Normally, I wouldn't write something like this. I mean, it goes against my now reformed morals. With that said, think of this fic as just a bunch of randomness chaotically glued with half-cooked rice together. Also, this is not supposed to be some major project (I hope) that I would be working on so don't expect much. I'll just be typing down whatever I feel like typing so . . . yeah.

If you're confused with how I'll use Italics . . . well, get used to it. Part of the way that I'll write this is confusing. After all, there isn't much thought put into this fic. I'm just writing this since the idea won't get out of my head and it's driving me more insane than usual.

(Don't) Enjoy!

**Side note:**

**_May the souls of those fallen in Pieta find their peace._**

* * *

His blue eyes were glazed and hazy, his mind fighting back the blurriness than just wouldn't go away. 

_The old man found him and asked him what he thought of his life. The little blond promptly answered that it sucked. The old man laughed a bit before smiling apologetically at him._

"_Naruto . . . what would you say if I said you have a living relative, an elder sister?"_

_The blond stared wide-eyed before he fainted. Sandaime Hokage, however, caught the blonde's smile._

He kept on walking, drunkenly, dizzy and sore. He felt so hot. He was burning and tingly all over. His body seemed to be much, much more sensitive than normal. He could even feel the caress of a passing breeze which sent sharp shivers and spikes up his spine.

"_Nee-chama!" the little boy ran up to a red-haired girl nearing her pre-teen years. He was carrying a piece of paper that he was waving around wildly. "Nee-chama! Look! Look!"_

_The little blond boy shoved the paper in front of his sister's face. The girl, annoyed, glared at the paper before crumpling it and throwing it into the trash bin. "I'm busy, brat. Go bother someone else."_

_A kunai whizzed by his hand and imbedded itself on the trash can just as he was about to retrieve the crumpled piece of paper. "And didn't I tell you not to touch the garbage? You'll just dirty your filthy self even more."_

_The little blond smiled apologetically as a small stream of blood dripped down from the cut on his hand. "Gomen ne, Nee-chama."_

He needed something cold . . . something that would cool him down; something to put out the fire spreading throughout his body. His breaths grew into gasps, his mouth dry. Water. He needed water.

Lots and lots of fresh, cold, water.

"_Brat, what the hell are you doing in my room?!" she screamed as the boy looked at her like alarmed. In his hands was a pair of scissors and around him laid a lot of littered paper of different colors and pictures that were cut and other stuff such as ribbons. "For that matter, what the hell did you do to my room?!"_

_The little boy forced a grin back at her, trying steady his rapidly beating heart. "Nee-chama . . .uhh . . . happy birthday!"_

"_Get out of my room you stupid brat!"_

He fell on the ground, face tilted at the last second before touch down against the soil to prevent his nose from being smashed. He groaned painfully as a strong pounding sensation filled his head, adding even more pressure to his already strong head ache.

"_I really dislike – no – hate you, you stupid brat." She glared at the little blond. His clothes were dirty and had some spots of red. His face was a bit scratched but the scratches were already disappearing at a fast rate. In his hand was a small cupcake. Behind him were the charred remains of the kitchen._

"_Nee . . . chama?" the blond ventured uncertainly. His eyes were already tearing up. "H-hate is a pretty s-strong word r-right? Y-you can't r-really mean-"_

"_You can't do anything right!" she screamed slamming her hand against a nearby wall. "Look! You even destroyed the kitchen! When you weren't here, everything was fine and peaceful. Now, I've got so many problems. All of them because of you! I don't even know what possessed me to allow that stupid old man to make me take you in!"_

"_B-but nee-chama, we're family, right?" he tried to smile._

"_I am not your sister!" she struck the little blonde's chest painfully with a finger, causing him to fall on his rear. "I am not related to a monster!"_

"_M-monster?"_

"_Yes! Don't you even get it?! You killed mother and that's why father himself cursed you!"_

"_Y-you know who father is?"_

_Tears were already flowing down from hazy blue eyes as he gazed up at her, tearfully hopeful._

"_I know who MY father is." She growled back. "We never had a monster in the family."_

"_F-father! Mother! Tell me about them!" his little hands wrapped desperately around her leg. "Please!"_

"_Get out of my apartment!" she backhanded the young blond. "Out!"_

"_P-please . . . tell me about father!"_

_The elder sibling dragged the young boy by his blond hair out the door._

The blond clawed at the ground, his hand grasping a fistful of dirt as he tried to force the bleariness in his head away. His body felt so sore and hot already. He started crawling on the ground, trying to move forward.

Water. He needed water. He needed something to cool him.

Water . . .

"_Please!" the blond groaned through the pain as he used his arm and foot to stop her apartment door from slamming close. "Please! Tell me . . . tell me if father loved me! That's all I need to know!"_

"_Get away, monster!"_

"_Please! Tell me the truth!" the blond begged, even more tear streaming down his face._

"_You want to know the truth?!" the elder sibling practically screamed. "Fine then! Father himself said that he hated you for killing mother! That's why he cursed you!"_

"_Father . . . hates me?"_

"_Yes! Understand?!" she shoved him roughly out the door again. "Now stay out!"_

His ears picked up the sound of a stream. His mouth running dry at the sound, the young blond shakily stood up, falling once on his knee before standing up again. He started wobbling towards the sound before eventually walking then running.

Water! Waterwaterwaterwaterwater!

He tripped and fell down again. His head was throbbing even more painfully than before. His temperature was rising again, he could just feel it. Hot blood was coursing throughout his body, making him gasp and pant, trying to cool his body.

Water . . .

So close . . .

Water!

"_Naruto . . . what are you doing out here on the streets?" the old man questioned. "It's dangerous out here, why don't you run along home?"_

_The little blond looked up to the old man and smiled. He nodded before scampering away. The old man smiled back before resuming his walk towards the Hokage Tower. As he took a turn around a corner, he realized that the blond was headed a different direction from his sister's apartment._

_The old man suddenly vanished in a swirl of leaves._

He could hear it already. The sound of running water filled through his ears, his nose already letting him taste its freshness. Closer . . . just a little bit more . . .

He clawed on the ground, crawling towards the sound. Water. Fresh, cooling water.

The little blond opened his eyes and through blurry vision saw the blue source of life. He couldn't help but smile more. He stretched his arm towards it but realized that his arm was too short.

No!

Not now!

Not when he was so close!

He strained his arm farther and farther, trying to reach it . . .

"_Child . . . please, answer me truthfully, have you been living here for long?" the old man motioned the run down apartment room, filthy as if there was no one living in it._

_The little blonde's eyes roamed around the room before returning to look at the old man. He smiled pleasantly and nodded his head. The old man groaned silently then continued. "What about your sister? Won't she be worried that you've been gone for so long?"_

_The blond shook his head. "I'm staying right here."_

"_Did you get into a fight?"_

_The little boy thought for a bit before shaking his head. "I wanna be indi . . . pi-pen . . . tent! I wanna be indipentent!" he nodded to himself in approval._

_The old man with the funny hat sighed. "Child, you are still very young. You can't survive on your own. You need a guardian."_

"_Nopee!" the blond shouted happily. "I'll be indipentent and then become the greatest ninja ever!"_

_The old man mulled his options in his head. "Are you sure you didn't get into a fight with your sister? That'd be a rather petty reason to run away from home, my dear boy."_

_The blond shook his head happily._

"_Alright. From now on, this is your new home. I'll send somebody - " '_I can trust'_ " - to clean your room later and appoint the landlady of this complex as your guardian during your stay here." The little boy cocked his head to the side questioningly. The old Hokage smiled. "She will take care of you for the duration of your stay here. Think of her as a mother. I will give you money once every month in order to pay for your lodging so, please, do remember to drop by my office every first day of the month." Sarutobi then pulled out a pouch of coins. "Here, I hope this is enough to pay for the previous months and this."_

_The blond smiled happily before giving the old man a hug, muttering an excited thanks, and then started running away out the broken doorway, the door falling to the ground just as the blond touched it. Grinning sheepishly, the blond left the room._

_The old man's smile left his face in favor of a serious, albeit contemplative, look._

A little bit more!

The water suddenly burst upwards as his body interrupted the powerful current for a second. He resurfaced several feet downstream, gasping for breath.

Air!

Need . . . more . . . AIR!

His body fought for the surface this time, headache seemingly forgotten in his anguish, his eyes reddening as water stung them, his body gasping for breath and choking on the water that would occasionally invade his mouth and nose, leaving another stinging sensation that filled his chest.

The pounding in his head suddenly returned with full force, making him sink underwater for a moment before he forced his body to continue fighting for the surface.

Live . . .

He broke the surface again, arms flailing around to keep himself afloat.

I must live!

His usually wild blond hair framed his face, his bangs hitting his eye forcing it to redden even more. He gagged again as he inhaled water.

I must survive!

"_Why won't you just die, you filthy beast!" the woman screamed as she backhanded him. A thud signified his body hitting the floor . . . or was it the foot that buried itself in his abdomen?_

_He didn't know anymore. He didn't know if it really something he did. His heart kept pounding painfully in his chest, dulling the pain of the foot re-lodging itself in his body. He gasped for the air that was suddenly stolen from him._

"_Mother's Day?" the woman, appearing to be in her mid-twenty's, sneered. "I'm not your mother you filthy mongrel!" she accentuated it with another boot to the head. "How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!"_

_He winced as she roughly grabbed his now-dirty yellow locks. She pulled on it as she made him face her._

"_Don't you dare treat me like a mother you filthy, arrogant, demon!" she threw him to the side with his hair. His head hit the side of the one of the desk's legs painfully. "You took my son and my husband and you actually have the nerve to give me a present for Mother's Day?! It's because of you that I'm not a mother anymore!"_

_Throughout the blood and the beating he received, he couldn't help but wonder how come she was crying. He really wanted to wipe them away._

_Demon . . ._

_Demon she called him . . . _

_Was that why he could not seem to cry anymore? Was that why she was crying?_

"_Get out! Get out of my room!" she screamed. She grabbed him by his hair again and threw him out into the hallway. "Be grateful that I will still let you stay in this apartment complex even after this insult!"_

_The door slammed hard._

_Am I really a demon?_

His body was weakening. He could already feel the fatigue pulling down on his body.

Was this it?

Was this the end?

His eyes suddenly widened as he once more broke the surface and fought. He fought against the current, trying to grab on to something. He spotted the roots of a tree he was rapidly approaching. He reached out for it.

_His heart pounding heavily as he woke up, tied to a post, the cutting gales of an upcoming storm painfully piercing his eyes . . . _

His heart pounding heavily as he grabbed on to the root. He hissed in pain as the sudden halt of movement caused the current behind him to slam painfully on his shoulder, making him let go of the root and receiving a large gash on his hand for all his effort.

_His eyes blurrily looking up to face the storm clouds cackling with electricity, as if threatening him with it's display of power._

His eyes blurrily tried to see past the water beating with power. The air was forced out of his lungs again as he broke the surface once more. His eyes closed for a bit as the blue water pricked his own blue hues.

_He could feel his heart cry out for help, his mouth already screaming the words onto the deaf walls of the houses and buildings around him, the wind and thunder stealing the sound away. He knew it as soon as the first downpour of rain beat down on his skin. He was going to die._

He could feel his heart cry out for air. He should have known that his endeavor would be fruitless. Now . . . now he was going to die.

_He screamed painfully into the night as lightning struck. He blacked out._

He howled in finality as his body finally gave in. His world darkened and thoughts plagued him.

But they were not about the conclusion of his dangerous predicament. He did not worry about what would happen to him. He had nothing to fear.

No . . .

He did not fear death for he had already cast it away.

Instead, his thoughts were those of which did not suit well with his situation.

Instead, one Uzumaki Naruto worried about his older sister whom he had already hurt painfully so and that of the kindly landlady that gave him shelter despite his grave insult against her. He hoped and wished and prayed that neither of the two would be too deeply affected by his death.

_"What a fool indeed."_

* * *

One lone silver eye opened in the thicket of the woods. Vision hazy and equilibrium distorted, the figure shakily stood up, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Trying to remember what had happened . . . 

_Sword and organic metal clashed and the scent of mucky iron filled the air, sparks igniting as the massive blade tore through the monster's thick armor. The beast howled in fury and was about to strike once more before he realized his other arm was now laying down in front of him._

_The figure adorned in a dark cloak stared impassively at the monster, eye unseen from under the shadow of a hood, uncaring as it snarled and growled at her._

"_Ouch! That hurt! You'll pay for that, bitch!"_

_He took another step before the hulking monstrosity suddenly burst into minute pieces._

_The cloaked figure walked away from the scene calmly._

She shook her head. There was nothing abnormal about that situation. Something must have happened afterwards. She tried to think harder. She needed to remember what exactly happened.

_Several more beasts appeared. However, despite their number, they were just the average demon. Nothing like the one before it. Compared to that abomination, these were mere small fry. She absently wondered why these canon fodder were not deployed beforehand._

_The pack seemed unsettled, as if deciding what they were supposed to do. On one hand, their leader was killed right in front of their eyes by the hooded stranger. On the other, their fear made them want to flee._

_Too bad the choice was not theirs._

_Passing by the purple-smeared trees, the figure continued its trek through the demon infested forest._

_A tingling in her senses made her draw her large blade just in time to parry a black blur._

"_Ara, you are good." A terrifyingly large amount of youki suddenly filled the clearing she had just entered. A large silky black figured seemingly appeared out of thin air onto the moonlit garden. "To actually kill him single-handedly. . . I am unsure as to what I should feel: enraged or impressed."_

_A black tentacle-like thing lashed out at her at blinding speeds. She held her ground as she swung her sword, cutting it, before jumping out of the way as several more impaled themselves on the ground she just seconds before stood on. Several more deadly black ribbons lashed out at her from all directions._

_She tried to block all but one which managed to pierce through her guard and impaled itself through her abdomen, halting her movements. The deceitful witch used the ribbon that impaled her to bring her closer so she could take a better look at the cloaked warrior.  
_

"_Somehow, you feel familiar." She said before metal imbedded itself on her head. Apparently, she had lured herself into a trap as the figure had intentionally let itself get hit in order to get closer to her. The witch's shock turned into a smile, delighted at the cloaked warrior's strength. "Ahah . . . I think I want you to be my friend now."_

_The figure cursed silently as she was grabbed by a tentacle and thrown back, slamming hard into several trees which all gave way to the might of the throw. The dark enchantress sighed angrily; she had forgotten that her opponent was most skillful at cloaking herself, essentially giving her the advantage of making preemptive strikes._

_Her senses flared but she was only able to put up several tentacles as her shield to stop the cleaving strike. She was thankful to even be able to stop the horizontal strike midway towards her right eye from the left part of her head; the warrior she was facing was apparently that skillful in youki manipulation._

_She immediately captured one of the warrior's legs and used it to slam the warrior unto the ground repeatedly. She made sure, however, to not overdo it else she might kill her potential ally._

"_Can you please awaken now? As long as I keep you within my grasp, your cloaking tricks are useless against me." She asked politely as another slash cut through her ribbon that held the warrior's leg. She impaled the warrior once more, this time through her sword arm in order to halt its movement. "I really, really want you to be my friend, you know? Can't we just be friends and help each other out?"_

_The figure's other hand tore at the ribbons before disappearing once again into to the night sky. _

"_Hmmhmm . . ." the enchantress looked around. She wondered if her opponent finally gave up on trying to kill her. A flash of silver alerted her and she dodged at the last millisecond, part of her silky ribbon-like hair severed. She tried to catch her prey once more only to find out that all she caught was a piece of torn bloodied cloth._

"_You're starting to grow tired, you know." She informed her foe calmly. "Unless you can kill me in one blow, this match will only end up in a stalemate." She sighed longingly before dodging another head-cleaving strike. She retaliated again only to find several more ribbons cut into pieces. The dweller of the deep smiled as her eyes finally caught sight of her elusive foe. "Gotcha'."_

_The figure's eyes widened before she found herself impaled through the chest once more. The figured coughed out blood. She glared at the Abyssal as hard as she could, trying to steady her breath._

"_Ah. . . I think I know you now . . ." the dark enchantress smiled. "Tell me, do you have a sister?"_

_The blonde growled back as her eyes changed for second before she freed herself from the Abyssal's grasp. She threw her massive claymore straight at her foe's head. The silky black enchantress, however, did not flinch as she allowed the sword to pass through her forehead._

"_Ara . . . you seem to be going all out." The Abyssal of the West commented, however, this time without her usual playfulness. The demonic atmosphere started to grow thicker and thicker. "I wonder . . . shall I allow you to grow or not?"_

The telltale feeling of approaching power-wielding individuals brought her out of her musings. Standing up, feeling a slight pain in her abdomen starting to fade, she faced the direction of several energy signatures. She wondered what they were. After all, the energy signatures were larger than normal humans yet lacking the sickeningly demonic quality of youki.

She decided to wait for the figures to arrive. After several minutes, during which her wounds had all healed and she pulled down her hood as to avoid suspicion, she sheathed her massive sword on her back, yet still remained in a guarded stance.

Her trained eye spotted five figures jumping off tree branches only to land on another until they passed her. Feeling slightly annoyed at being ignored, she sighed. She supposed she could not do anything about it.

She started walking in the opposite direction of the five figures. After all, they were bound to have come from some fort or village. All she had to do was find it.

Several minutes into her walk, her stomach suddenly rumbled. She ignored it and continued walking. She favored trying to remember what happened during her battle with the Abyssal of the West over everything. After all, the big question was still unanswered.

Why was she still alive?

The sound of running water nudged her out of her train of thought. She approached the river and took note of the speed of the current. She crouched down a bit and cupped some water in her hands before bringing it up to her lips, drinking and trying not to relish in its freshness.

After all, those seeking death do not want to enjoy life.

A spark of irritating orange which clashed with the blue river caught her eye. Her silver orb spotted what appeared to be a body several feet upstream and rapidly approached her. Her hand automatically plucked the body out of the river and placed it on the grass beside her.

Oh . . .

It was a human boy.

Her eye narrowed. If she let the boy live . . . then there might be complications that would arise. She did not need any complications. However, the organization did not condone their warriors allowing humans to die. That is, humans that pay them gold, to die.

This little blond did not pay her or the organization anything. That fact known, she had no obligation to save the boy's life. Given that, why the hell was she frantically trying to let the boy cough out the water lodged in his body instead of throwing him back to the water whence he came from?!

Just as she was about to listen for his heartbeat again, the little blond coughed and wheezed, turning to his side as he spat out the water. The armored warrior rubbed and patted his back just enough force to help him through his ordeal.

"Ah . . . that . . . hurt . . ." the blond managed in between breaths. "That's . . . the last time . . . I . . . swear . . . that I'd . . . I'd . . ."

She closed her eyes just as the blond slumped. He must have been through quite the adventure, she mused. Sighing, she decided to help the blond dry himself and his clothes first so that he wouldn't get sick then she'd leave him alone. She didn't care, anyways, whatever would happen to him.

Her hand reached out to him and she turned him around so that he was laying on his back. Her features hardened, however, as she saw his labored breathing.

_Fevers don't usually start this fast, do they?_

She ripped a small piece of her cloak and used it to wipe the young boy's face and neck. She then rested her hand on the boy's forehead and her eye widened at how hot it was.

_Is it even possible for normal humans to survive these temperatures?!_ She internally screamed in her mind. Why she was screaming in the first place, she attributed to the shock and oddity of the situation.

Cursing under her breath at how she was acting during such a serious situation, she quickly took off all of the blonde's clothes, and squeezed the water out of them before clothing him in them again as she lacked proper clothing. She then took off her cloak and wrapped it around the young boy. She really had no idea if what she was doing was right as she had no experience with illnesses aside from severed arms and legs. She then cradled the boy in her arms, one of her arms situated below the boy's knees while the other supporting his neck.

As she stood up and prepared to make a dash for whatever civilization she could find, she suddenly stopped.

_The boy is dying, right? _A voice at the back of her head spoke. _You do not know him so why must we save him? You should just let him die._

She suddenly shook her head. Those thoughts are exactly what made humans think _they_ were monsters. Those thoughts made the humans believe that she and her fellow warriors were just like the youma.

Then again, there was little sense in keeping the boy alive. If he was dying . . . it was not her fault anyway. And so what if she was just like a youma . . . she had killed so many times already . . . hell, she even killed –

Her mind suddenly returned to reality as the blond stirred in her arms. His blue eyes, hazy, looked up to her face. She stared back at him with her one silver eye, wondering what he was going to do.

The blond smiled.

"Thank you . . . so . . . much . . ." the blonde's smile faltered as oblivion grabbed his consciousness. "Tenshi-chan . . ."

She suddenly found herself racing through the thick forest.

_Tenshi-chan . . ._ she thought as she stole a quick glance at the boy whose breath was very shallow and infrequent. _He called me . . . Tenshi-chan . . ._

She started to hasten her pace even more as she stretched her senses to find the closest sign of civilization.

_If he only knew what I was about to do . . ._

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Confused yet? I sure am. Honest. Even I don't know what I wrote. If you wanna review, go ahead. Anyway, I'm sure that those of you who know Claymore could already guess who among the Claymores I used. Those who don't could just go to my profile and check the gallery in my homepage to see how she looks like. Anyway, I hope that, knowing her, her fight made at least a little bit of sense.

**Now, for a rant (Do not read this for those who could be offended) :**

I'm tired of god-Sharingan and Emo-god Sasuke. So, in this fic, while Sharingan may still seem to be godly, trust me, it won't be. That, and Naruto will be super. Don't like? Oh well.

**Power Rankings are screwed-up so beware: **

**Abyssal Level equals Kyuubi no Kitsune**. I don't care what you guys say. Look at the Isley vs. Luciela fight. They could level the mountains. Damn.

**Average Fully Functional Claymore** (a.k.a. not Clarice-y) **equals** **mid - Jounin**. Crazy? Yup. Got the joke? Great job.

**Youma equals High Chuunin**. Bwahahaha! This is messed up!

**Awakened Beings equals Bijuu which are not equal to wussy Bijuu** from the manga where they can easily be beaten up by cloak-wearing guys. Sure the Akatsuki are strong but, come on, why are people so terrified by Bijuus when they seem to keep falling one after the other in a two-on-one battle? Are Bijuu's not strong or fearsome anymore?

. . . Okay, that was childish. Ignore that. This is just a rant, anyways . . .

Moving on, here's how I'll try to justify this insane logic of my power rankings. I will use the "AFF Claymore equals mid - Jounin" as an example. The AFF Claymore, basically, has the physical abilities of a Jounin. Whether it's with 80 percent Youki or not, _bahala na_. You decide. What the Jounins have, however, is versatility in technique and an arsenal of attacks. Claymores are, technically, swords(wo)men so they don't really have jutsus. They just cut youma and awakened beings.

Same goes for the Abyssal equals Kyuubi no Kitsune. Abyssals have similar power levels but different techniques and specialties when compared to the Kyuubi.

If you understood (or even read) this rant. . .

Well, good for you!

Chapter 1 done, let's hope there won't be a chapter 2! Now I can hopefully focus on my Geass fic and my next NarutoHanabi . . .

Okay, review if you want.


	2. Things That Make You Purrrr

A/N: Well, it happened. Here comes the weirdly unusual chapter 2!

Oh, one more thing:

BE CONFUSED!

Enjoy!

* * *

He awoke to the feeling of lightheadedness, groaning as the sun's rays shot past the forest trees and straight into his eyes. He cursed as he rubbed his eyes and stretched his back, hearing several bones creak in protest. He stood up from his sitting position, then picked up the massive sword from its place imbedded in the ground, and re-sheathed it behind him, letting it dangle there horizontally. 

He surveyed his surroundings then took out a map to check his location. He suddenly sped off and stopped at a large clearing overlooking several mountains. Recognizing some of them from his map, he sped off once more, this time down the mountain he was on and continued down. Rock after rock and stone after stone, he jumped until he landed at the base, a large cloud of dust announcing his entrance. He zoomed forward once more, not even waiting for the dust cloud to settle.

After several minutes of running, he stopped, holding the limp bodies of three dead rabbits in each hand. He settled down and cut several trees and started a fire then impaling the rabbits with a stick before roasting them. He thrust his large sword into the ground and leaned against it, waiting for his breakfast to be done. He eyed the flickering flames as his eyes darkened, remembering that fateful night.

The snapping of twigs suddenly stopped him from going any further. He did not show any surprise for he had already known that there were people nearby.

_One . . . two . . . five . . ._ he started counting. _Five, four, three, two, on-_

Five figures suddenly appeared, surrounding him. He calmly took out one of the impaled rabbits from beside the fire. The figures eyed him cautiously as their hands neared their weapons of choice.

"State your name and business, stranger to these lands." One of the five masked figures finally broke the silence. The blond, who was chewing on his food from his position leaning against the sword, looked up to the speaker. He then motioned the rest of the food with one hand, as if telling them to eat. The ninjas tensed even more, getting ready for action.

"I repeat, state your name and business or you will be classified as an intruder and will therefore be eliminated." The ninja from before prompted again. The blond continued chewing his food. The ninjas drew their choice of weapons.

"This is your final warning. State your name and business. Should you fail to answer within the next ten counts, you forfeit your life." The five ninjas got into their accustomed combat positions.

"Ten . . ."

The blond took a bite from the rabbit.

"Nine . . ."

One of the ninjas took out some ninja wire.

"Eight . . ."

The blond took his final bite from the rabbit.

"Seven . . ."

Ninja wire suddenly wrapped around the blonde's neck.

"Six . . ."

The blond just kept on chewing.

"Five . . ."

Several kunai were brought out, the users aiming at the blonde's vitals and their position should he attempt to escape.

"Four . . ."

The blond swallowed.

"Three . . ."

The ninjas got ready for a possible execution.

"Two . . ."

The blond continued.

"Two . . ." the ninja continued. He suddenly stopped and the tense air around them started to dissipate. "What?"

"That's after three, right?" the blond smiled pleasantly at the ninjas who, just a few seconds ago, were about to execute him. "And 'one' is supposed to be next, right?"

"Don't get smart with us, kid." The ninja, who the blond assumed was the leader of the five-man group, deadpanned. "Are you ready to talk now?"

"Yes." The blond affirmed before adding. "You could have just waited for me to finish my meal instead of rushing me, you know."

"Kid, answer my question now."

"What's with all this security, anyway? I'm not that near the village, am I?"

"You are not supposed to be asking question. You are supposed to be answering them." The man said through gritted teeth, trying to keep is temper in check.

The blond did not show any signs of discomfort at the man's tone. He just smiled up to the man and asked calmly "If I answer your question, will you answer mine?"

"Depending on your answer." One of the other ninjas spoke up, trying to ease the growing tension between the odd stranger and her team leader. After all, despite the situation, she was still against seeing the blood, especially that of a child's, during this early hour. "Please, just answer his question."

The blond eyed her, looking at her as if he could see her through her mask with his eerie blue eyes. The kunoichi fought back a shiver from running through her body. The blond stopped staring before smiling more cheerfully.

"Oh alright." The blond turned to the team leader. "But make sure to answer my question after I answer yours, okay?" before anybody could protest, he continued. "I'm here looking for the nearest among the Great Five Hidden Villages." His comment made the group's eyes narrow. "I was hoping I could get a job, or something along those lines, so that I can get money to fund my travels."

"What would you need money for? You seem to be able to live in the wilderness quite well already." One of the ninjas asked.

The young blond narrowed his blue eyes at the speaker. The kunoichi from before realized why and looked to the team leader for authority to answer the blonde's earlier question. He raised his hand to halt her as he still had something to say. "You still haven't given us your name, stranger."

"I'm underage. I can't be that dangerous, can I?" the blond answered back innocently. Feeling the man's glare, he sighed. "Fine. My name is Su Doku. Happy?"

"Village of origin?" the man asked quickly.

"Now wait just a second, why do I have to keep answering your question when you don't even answer mine?" the blond exclaimed. "Sheesh! Talk about rude!"

"Now see here, you little brat, you are in no -"

"Taichou." The kunoichi interrupted. "Let me be the one to speak to him." She could feel her captain's glare. "Please?"

The ninja just grunted. He motioned for one of them to stay behind with her before disappearing with the rest to continue their patrols. She sighed. "Okay, now that he's gone, will you answer my questions?"

"Not you too!" the blond whined. He suddenly sniffed the air. "Ack! Now look what you've done!" He quickly took out the remaining four rabbits away from the fire. He eyed the darkened rabbits before sighing in defeat.

A hand suddenly rested on his shoulder and he looked up to see the masked face of the kunoichi. He smiled slightly as she took one of the rabbits in her hand and lifted her mask just a little bit to take a bite small bite from the non-burnt portion. "It's . . . burnt."

"See . . ." the blond pointed out. "It's your squad leader's fault for burning it." He added. Seeing that she wouldn't continue eating the burnt food, he smiled. "Well, at least you took a bite."

"Despite its burnt quality, it is still adequate to the taste." She replaced her mask.

"You're kind." The blond smiled at her. "That might get you killed."

The other ninja with her immediately drew his katana and pressed the blade near the blonde's throat. Rather, would have pressed in near the blonde's throat had the kunoichi not blocked it with her kunai.

"Stand down." she ordered.

"But he-"

"I said stand down."

The other ninja took a quick look at the blond before sheathing his blade and going back to his original position, all the while not breaking eye contact with the blonde's eerie blue eyes.

"I'm sorry about that." The kunoichi apologized. "We are on edge, you see."

The blond smiled. "Is it . . . that you are on high alert because of Akatsuki?"

This time two katanas pressed itself on opposite sides of his neck. This still didn't seem to faze the smiling blond.

"Okay, forget all these pleasantries, who are you?" the kunoichi's voice suddenly turned cold.

"Did you not hear me earlier? I already told you my name."

"You lie." The other ninja spoke. "Your eyes betray your words. You are no 'Su Doku', are you, liar?"

The blond closed his eyes and continued smiling pleasantly. "So of I am a liar . . . then what if I say my name is Naruto?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." the kunoichi suddenly said, making the blond open his eyes in shock. She suddenly snarled, though it could only be heard because of her mask covering her face. "Tori, get ready to call the others and two more teams just in case." The other ninja looked slightly alarmed. "It is telling me that this is really Uzumaki. We might be in for one hell of a fight."

"Hey, hey!" the blond flailed his arms. "That's not fair! I don't know your names but you know mine!" the blond huffed and folded his arms. "Tell me yours, lady."

"What-" the kunoichi started before realizing that the blond was two steps away from their blades. She growled and delivered a vertical cutting slash while her partner delivered a horizontal cutting slash, hoping to cleave the blond in half before the upcoming battle escalates into something uncontrollable. The sound of flesh being ripped alerted her that something was wrong.

Eyes darting to her side, she was just barely able to catch the falling form of her partner before he hit the ground in a bloody heap, numerous cuts decorating his body, cutting even through his leather armor.

"Now that was not nice, lady." A voice said from behind her. She spun around and pointed her blade at the blonde's throat before realizing that her sword was several inches off to the left of the blonde's neck. "Can't we talk about this peacefully?"

"Die!" she tried to distract the blond so that she could fire a signal for help. After all, she did not want the battle to reach the point where she would have to use her ace. She cut diagonally, hoping to make the blond jump away. The blond, however, allowed her blade to cut through his side where he proceeded to hold it in place with his hand. Her eyes widened.

"Will you listen to me now?" Naruto said with a grunt. Her eyes narrowed and tried to pull out her katana. It would not budge. "H-hey! That hurts, you know?! Damnit, I take back what I said about you being kind!"

"Let go of my blade!" she screamed at him. She tried pulling again which resulted in another yelp of pain.

"Quit it!" he pulled the blade away from him and immediately clamped his other hand to his side to stop the blood flow. "Look, let's talk about this peacefully. PEACEFULLY!" for further emphasis, he let go of the blade. "See! I let go! Now stop attacking me!"

"What do you want here, Bane of Konoha!?" she asked angrily. She had half the mind (and instinct) to attack him as soon as he let go of her blade. However, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and talk. Of course, she stood in a ready position just in case.

"Bane? That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" he winced as more blood seeped onto his shirt. He clamped his hand on the wound tighter. Seeing him in pain, she plunged her katana into the ground.

"Take of your shirt."

"Wh-what?" Naruto spluttered. Her hands started pulling his shirt up despite his protests. "Wh- pervert! Get your hands off me!"

"Stop moving you imbecile!" she chided through narrowed eyes, ready to inflict pain on him at the slightest trace of hostility. "And I am not a pervert, you idiot."

"Hey, that's harsh! You called me a bane, and imbecile, and then an idiot!" his shirt was suddenly gone and he was made to turn around. "Damnit pervert, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Shush you!" she hissed from behind him. He felt a warm glow around his wound, dulling his pain, before warm arms suddenly wrapped around him as he felt her tying something around his torso. Looking down, he saw white bandages covering his wound. It only took a few seconds for the first aid application to finish.

"I take back what I said again." He commented as he wore his bloody orange shirt again. "You are kind." He suddenly felt himself caught in a paralysis jutsu. He groaned. "I take that back again; you are truly evil."

The kunoichi went to check up on her fallen partner. Seeing that what covered him were merely just numerous small cuts that just needed small patching-ups, she did just that before returning her attention to her captured jinchuuriki.

"Are you a medic-nin or something?" a voice to her side asked.

_Okay, ex-captured Jinchuuriki._

She drew her blade again and slashed, making the blond jump back and raise his hands. "Hey, hey! Peace, remember? Peace!"

Calming her nerves and _it_, she stood in a ready stance. "What are you doing here, Jinchuuriki?"

The blonde's smile suddenly faltered a bit before returning. "I guess that's why you suddenly attacked me." He smiled merrily. "So you know who I am! Cool!"

"Need I repeat my question a third time, Uzumaki?" she asked darkly. "Or should I let my blade do all the talking?"

"Hey, lady, I already answered your question." Naruto shot back. Seeing her disbelieving look, he continued. "I was telling the truth! I needed to get to the nearest Great Hidden Village so that I could find a certain job to get money for my travels."

"You still haven't answered the question of _why_ you need the money seeing as you are already accustomed to the roads."

"Well . . ." he started thinking "You still haven't told me your name!"

"Don't try to change the subject, Uzumaki, or shall we continue our dance?" her tone cut through his merriment.

"I just . . . need it." He responded stubbornly. She was about to lash out again when she suddenly caught a look in his eyes, a sadness that stuck something within her.

_He means it . . . You should not make him say it; his intentions are already clear. What will you do?_

She sheathed her blade once more. His solemn, questioning eyes suddenly regaining its brightness, he quickly bounced off and picked up his own larger blade with one hand, shocking her, before sheathing it behind him by its straps. A groan from the ground alerted her that her partner awoke. After answering several of his questions and learning that he was ready to move, she told him to go ahead and alert their Kage of the incoming arrival. Tori nodded, albeit reluctantly, before disappearing.

She sighed at how hectic her day started out to be. Feeling someone staring at her, she turned to her side and saw Naruto looking at her expectantly.

"Well?" he asked. "Are we going yet?"

"Alright."

She walked on ahead, stopping a bit to look behind her, making sure the blond was following her. Her eyes widened as she saw no sign of the blond. She cursed and was about to move before somebody suddenly called her from the front.

"Oi! Ninja-girl!" she was surprised to find him so far ahead of her. "Let's go already!"

She sped up a bit to walk beside him, matching his pace.

It took them an hour of walking before they caught sight of the village gates. During the walk, a rather weird sort of silence befell the duo. The kunoichi would occasionally steal several glances at the hyper sugar bomb as he bounced and skipped his way through the dirt road and up the mountain, whistling tunes that she knew he just made up. If not for the fact that she was intrigued at what the blond was doing and going to do in her village, she would have pushed him off the mountain while she went off to rejoin her patrol.

Before they entered the village gates, she suddenly turned towards the smiling blond.

"My name is Nii Yugito." She told him curtly. The blond smiled warmly back at her "Welcome to Kumogakure no Sato, Uzumaki Naruto-san."

* * *

"And you're sure about this reports?" the wizened man asked the ninja in front of him. 

"Yes sir." The man confirmed. "It has also been determined that he will be here within the hour. The Nekomata is taking him along the pilgrim's path in order to give us enough time for his arrival."

The old man pondered this new turn of events. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Kyuubi's jinchuuriki would just waltz in his country, much less his village, so freely. It was as if the boy was completely oblivious to his worth as a weapon!

If he were somehow able to convince the lad to join him in Kumo, they would be able to pay Konoha back for the humiliation they faced! If the Nekomata was strong enough to function as a one-man platoon with little difficulty, what more the Kyuubi!

The possibilities and opportunities to use the great demon's power were too good to be true!

"Sir?" the ninja prompted, cutting off the Raikage from his daydream. "Your orders, sir?"

"Ah, yes, yes. Well," the old man thought of how he would go about this. "Did he show any allegiance to Konoha?"

"No sir. He even mentioned that he was not trying to actually go to Kumogakure no Sato. He said that he was just trying to reach the nearest village where he could earn some money to fund his travels." The ninja explained. "Sir, I personally do not think we should trust him."

"Nonsense!" the Kage admonished. "We must trust him and greet him as an honored guest! Imagine the power of two demons at Kumo's disposal! We would be invincible!"

"But sir, what if this is all just a trap? Kitsune's are known as cunning creatures."

"Well, we have the Nekomata as well as an entire village of ninjas at our disposal. Surely we could subdue him fast enough before he could transform."

"But sir-"

"But nothing." the Kage cut him off. "You are to announce to the villagers that an important person will be arriving alongside the Nekomata and are to make preparations accordingly." He ordered with a tone of finality. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" the ninja saluted before disappearing.

_Now all I have to do is to find a way to secure an alliance with the Kyuubi._

_

* * *

_

Yugito tried not to show her surprise as she walked down the market road alongside Naruto. She was more accustomed to the seething cold stares of the villagers instead of this . . . pleasantry. She had a feeling of what the Raikage was planning. She cast a sideways glance at the blond beside her.

He was still smiling as usual. However, something about his smile seemed odd to her. It was as if something was different from the smile she saw back at the forest. She could not, however, figure out what it was.

"Hey, Yu-chan," her eyes widened in horror at the complete disregard of her pride by this stranger via calling her this new nickname. "Are they normally this happy?" he suddenly strayed away from her to approach a food stand. It took several moments for her to realize what was going on as she was still stuck in her stupor.

"H-hey! Uzumaki-san!" she jogged up to him. She was him pay the man and turned to her. "You're not supposed to- hnwah!" the blond suddenly shoved a piece of meat into her open mouth. She spluttered and gagged a bit before swallowing.

"Does it taste good?" the blond cheerfully asked her. She glared hard at him as she tried to catch her breath. "It does?"

"Uzumaki-san, you are not suppo- hnph!" he shoved another piece of meat in her mouth. Once more, she swallowed.

"Well, you could have some more, if you want!" he smiled. "I don't mind, really. Don't be shy!"

"UZUMAKI!" she shouted, veins popping all over her head. "You are not supposed to - stop that!" she swatted his hand away from force-feeding her. "Let me finish, damnit!"

"Oh, lighten up!" Naruto laughed. "I swear, you're so serious and, well, 'Kunoichi' about everything!" he tried to force-feed her again using his other hand. That too, however, was swatted away.

"Need I remind you, Uzumaki, that you are in enemy territory without a passport or valid reason for you to be here for." She snapped angrily. She caught his arm as he tried to feed her. Again!

"You're looking thin, now that I think about it." Her eye twitched as his apparent disregard of whatever she says. "Are you eating right?"

"UZUMAKI!" she shouted once more. She suddenly paused and took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to calm her aggravated nerves. "Uzumaki-san, come with me so that I can take you to the Raikage where we shall discuss with him your situation."

She opened her eyes to see that he was gone.

"Son of a-"

"Nekomata." The vendor in front of her said coldly. "Can you please leave my cart now that the boy you are escorting has left?"

"Where did he go?" she shot back icily. She was already used to this kind of treatment; to how two-faced the village was.

"He went that way." He pointed towards the direction of a large building. "Now, leave."

She nodded before stomping off angrily. Her day was getting worse by the minute. Now all she needed was someone to annoy her even more before she'd snap.

"Yuuuuuu-chaaaaaan . . ." a singsongy voice chirped.

_For crying out loud!_

She was about to lash out at the owner when she caught sight of what was in his outstretched hand. A piece of meat stared mockingly back at her, making her glare at it, as she tried to think of what she was going to say next. Sadly, though, he cut the silence.

"Wanna go over there?" Naruto pointed towards the park, all the while smiling warmly.

She sighed in defeat as the blond already went ahead without waiting for her reply.

* * *

The Raikage waited impatiently for his guest to arrive. The village guards reported that the Nekomata as well as Uzumaki Naruto had entered the village ten minutes prior. The old man supposed that he was just being restless at the thought of having another addition to Kumo's forces which was making him impatient. 

After all, the boy was probably side-tracked and maybe had to go buy something to eat.

Slightly annoyed, the wizened man told his secretary to put all his appointments on hold.

He decided to approach the Jinchuuriki instead of waiting.

* * *

Her eyes hardened as she strolled through the park in tow with the orange sugar bomb. Honestly, he didn't have to keep disappearing every now and then. She wanted to verbally lash out at him but he suddenly bought several bags of cotton candy as well as two ice creams in cones. The latter especially made her hesitate. 

Truthfully, though, she was intrigued at what the ice cream would taste like. However, she was there in escort business so she shouldn't be thinking about how tantalizing to the taste the ice cream looked as the blond took a bite off one of them.

Now that she thought about it, didn't the blond just eat an hour as well as several minutes ago? Her mind wondered at the blonde's appetite.

_Oh damn._ She cursed. _He disappeared again._

She could faintly hear the sound of cackling laughter from her tenant. She stomped off towards where she last spotted him: under a nearby tree snacking on the sweets he bought. As she approached it, she heard a snicker from above. She glared at the relaxing blond who ate his food, all the while staring down at her.

"Uzumaki-"

"Want a bite?" he offered his second, untouched by his appetite, ice cream down at her. She eyed it warily, trying to resist the sweet temptation. Hardening her already hard glare, she decided that whatever she'd do that the blond disagreed with would be promptly ignored. Hence, drastic measures were called upon.

The blond eyed her as she jumped up to the branch he was on and sat down next to him. He grinned merrily at her as he offered the food. It took him a second to realize that he was bound by ninja wire from head to toe, one end held firmly in the Kumo-kunoichi's hand.

"I'm fed up with playing these silly games, Uzumaki-san." She said evenly. "I am trying to help you with your problem, here, and all you do is ignore my attempts to help you. I have half the mind to just call upon our forces and declare you an intruder. Now, depending on your answer to my next question, I might pull through with calling you an intruder that warrants termination. Will you cooperate with me and meet with Raikage-sama or must I shove this katana up your hairy –"

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place?" the blond grinningly cut her off. "Of course I'd cooperate with you and meet up with the Kage!" he suddenly jumped off the branch, dragging her down as she still held firmly to the wire. She yelped a bit at the unexpected drop and prepared for a sore landing only to be caught by her blond tormentor. He grinned down at her as he helped her to her feet. She flushed a bit before glaring hard at him as she saw the remains of the ninja wire she bound him with. He just smiled back innocently. "Well, aren't you going to lead the way?"

"You **will** follow me. You will **not** stray away. Do I make myself clear?" she commanded harshly. Naruto stared at her before smiling and stretching out his hand towards her. She eyed the hand before looking at him questioningly. "What?"

"Aren't you going to hold my hand to make sure I won't stray?" he smiled. Yugito growled slightly before tying is hand to hers with the remaining ninja wire she had left.

_Note to self: Buy more wire and make sure they are stronger._

She started walking only to stop as she felt a tug from behind. _Already?!_ "Uzumaki-san!"

"Want some ice cream?" he offered with his other hand. She eyed it before sighing and taking it. She looked at it curiously before taking an experimental lick.

The sweet coldness of the treat sent a satisfying shiver down her spine. She, however, refrained herself from showing anything outwardly and tried to chew down the frozen treat normally, inwardly relishing at the rare treat.

Naruto, however, could feel her pleasure and couldn't help but smile warmly at the small bit of happiness that shown in her eyes. He pondered on cutting the wire and running away again to explore but decided against it. His escort seemed to brighten up and he didn't want her happiness to dim.

He waited patiently for her to finish the small treat as she went as far as licking her fingers a bit. Her eyes suddenly turned towards his and she flushed in embarrassment before hiding it behind a cough.

"Ahem, well, thank you for the food, Uzumaki-san. We best be on our way now." She was satisfied as she saw him walk beside her, showing no signs of trying to escape.

Moments later, as the Jinchuuriki duo left the park in the direction of the Raikage's tower, the aforementioned ninja entered the park in search of the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki.

* * *

A/N: And here's chapter two! 

The idea of adding Yugito to the story came to me because of three things. Firstly is that I have a thing for Naruto/Yugito. Secondly is that I found a really great fan art of Yugito in deviantart. And thirdly, because of a certain fanfic entitled "Nine Broken Mirrors" by Ayien.

Next off in this rant, I have an idea on how I can incorporate Karin in this story. Thank Demon God of Chaos for that as I came across it after reading one of his . . . fics. However, by placing her in the story, timelines and other stuff that means nothing in the realm of fanfiction will get all screwed up . . .

Oh well.

Poll question, though:

1) Harem or one-sided harem?

2) Karin or no Karin?

Also, who is your favorite Akatsuki member?

Confused yet?


	3. A Day Outdoors

A/N: I'm having fun posting these chapters by part. Don't know why, though.

Anyways, for those of you who didn't know, chapter two is complete and boring.

Enjoy chapter 3!

* * *

"_What the hell do you mean by 'he's gone', you old coot?" she asked angrily, slamming her hand on the desk for emphasis. "Run that joke by me again and I swear, Hokage or not, I will rip you to shreds and feed you to the dogs!"_

"_I don't particularly appreciate your insults, and your threats I find even less pleasing." The old man puffed out a smoke. He eyed the girl in front of him with narrowed eyes which bore into her crimson ones. "I have already told you what you wanted to know. You did not schedule an appointment so be grateful enough to leave quietly."_

"_As if!" she hollered. The old man sighed and called for security. _

"_This subject is finished. You will leave now." Two ninjas wearing ANBU gear approached the girl. She eyed the two before angrily glaring at the old man in front of her. Gritting her teeth, she turned around swiftly and stomped towards the door._

"_You may want to check his apartment." She stopped and cast an angry glance at him. "You might find something he left behind. It may be the only reminder you will have that you once had a brother. If you find anything, be sure to treasure it."_

"_Whatever, old man."_

_Somehow, her voice sounded hollow._

_

* * *

_

It had taken them another several minutes before the Raikage finally came back to the building to meet up with the two Jinchuuriki. After several pleasantries, he urged Naruto into his office, telling Yugito to wait outside for further instructions. She obeyed without a word.

"So, Naruto-kun," the Raikage began as he closed the door. The blond was already seated on his desk, his large sword leaning against the same desk he used as a chair. The old man sighed. "Will you please get down from there and sit properly, Naruto-kun?"

"Sure, Cap'n!" said blond chirped before pushing himself off the desk and plopping down on the nearby chair. "Hey! This is more comfy than that hard desk!"

Calming his nerves, the old man circled his desk and sat down regally on his chair, pressing his hands together and his elbows on his desk as he leaned towards the blond. "So, what brings Konoha's Hero to our land of lightning?" he began.

Naruto continued smiling. "Please, you and I both know that the Jinchuuriki are not recognized as heroes." He added a small laugh in the end and the Raikage was unsure as to how to interpret it.

"True, true. . ." the old man said as if he understood what the blond was thinking. "But back to my question . . .?"

"Ah, yes." The blond nodded. "Well, I assume that that ninja, Tori I believe his codename was, informed you that I need a rather large sum of money for my travels. I will, of course, work hard for this money."

The old man mulled over what the blond said before nodding to himself and shooting another question. "Tori mentioned that you were looking specifically for either one of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Is there any particular reason why?"

"Well, y'see, the only thing I know that I'm more than good at is fighting." Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I know how to count and stuff, but, well, I need money quick and I know that if I participate in hunts, I'll be able to get the necessary amount of money I need."

"But what about the taverns in other villages? Surely they have their own list of bounties there."

"Well . . . taverns don't usually allow kids in them, what more accept a bounty?" he grinned. "Also, if, supposing, they allow me to accept the bounty, I'd still have to find the client or give the proof of the bounty to the tavern master and wait for him to go to a hidden village to claim the reward wherein he will split it in two, for me and for him. I'd rather just go straight to the source of money and get my full share."

The Raikage paused to mull over what he heard. Nodding, he pressed a button on his desk. "Send Nii-kun in."

Not more than a few seconds later, the Nekomata's jinchuuriki came forward, bowing to the Raikage, before standing up straight and awaited for orders.

"I have a mission for you, Nii-kun." Naruto could tell that she wasn't used to being addressed that way. "You are to accompany Naruto-kun here on his bounty hunting trips." He turned towards Naruto. "Is this arrangement okay with you?"

The blond looked towards his soon-to-be partner as if looking for any signs of objection. Seeing none, he grinned a bit. "If she really wants to, why not?"

Yugito twitched a bit but said nothing. The Raikage smiled a bit in amusement. "Very well, you may leave. Come back here tomorrow for your first assignment. For now, I suggest you acquaint yourself with this village and probably spar a bit with Nii-kun in one of the training grounds." He suddenly remembered something. "Do you have a place to stay, Naruto-kun?"

The blond merely chirped. "I'll probably stay with Yu-chan!"

Yugito twitched again and her hand unconsciously moved towards her kunai pouch.

The Raikage hid his surprise. If Naruto stayed in the Nekomata's home, he'd see first hand how the village treated their outcasts. "Naruto-kun, wouldn't it be better for you to stay in one of our hotels? I could arrange for the first few nights to be free as a courtesy for our guest."

"Funnily enough, you seem to be hiding something." The blond smiled. The feeling in the room suddenly became tense. The blond continued, smiling eyes staring straight into the Raikage's. "I think staying with Yu-chan is the best option for me, don't you agree?"

The Raikage, as if in a trance, nodded his head.

"Cool!" the room returned to normal. "Well, Yu-chan, your Kage agreed so you can't disagree!"

Before she could even protest, she was dragged out the door by her new hyperactive partner. The Raikage was taken out of his stupor by the sound of the door closing.

Sighing, he pressed another button on his desk.

"Yes, Raikage-sama?"

"Send three genin teams to clean the Nekomata's house and send another team to inform its neighbors that somebody important will be staying with it. Make sure this is all done within the next five hours."

"Is that all, Raikage-sama?"

"Oh, and bring me whatever records we have on Konoha and the Kyuubi." As an afterthought, he added. "And please do bring me a bottle of sake. Thank you."

"Right away, Raikage-sama."

* * *

"And this is the hospital, Uzumaki-san." She waved towards a building with her hand. Naruto's gaze, however, was nowhere near the building. 

"Hey, Yu-chan, what's this?" he called out from a nearby store, several feet behind her. "What are you doing there, anyways? Aren't you supposed to be guiding me around this village?"

Yugito's eye twitched again before she started marching angrily towards the still grinning blond. "Uzumaki-san," she started, trying to reign in her temper. "I would highly appreciate it if you would not stray away from me." She caught him walking away again to another store.

"UZUMAKI-SAN!" she shouted, stopping him in his tracks as he paused to look at her. Big mistake.

She quickly tied his hands together behind him and tied the other end of what was left of her ninja wire. She started channeling her chakra through the wire, strengthening it.

"Maybe I did not make myself clear, Uzumaki-san." She glared hard as she brought his face to eye-level with hers. "Do. Not. Stray. Away. I. Will. Get. Mad." Seeing as the boy seemed to listen, she nodded. "Good."

"Lead the way, Yu-chan."

She started to pull on the string and walk, dragging the now gagged boy along. "Now, our next stop is the academy . . ."

* * *

_The white sheets moved as a groan escaped from the boy tangled in the sheets. His blue eyes opened – wincing as the sun's rays burned his azure pools – and stretched, a popping sound making him groan in protest. He coughed a bit and realized that the ceiling was unfamiliar, that the bed was just much too soft. _

_"Where . . .?" _

_The door creaked open and he saw a rather gentle looking fellow walk up to him. _

_"Ah, you're finally awake, I see. That's good." He brought forth a loaf of bread and handed it to the bedridden lad. "It may not be much but this should do, for now." _

_"Wha- Who're-" he tried standing. The elder man immediately put a hand on his shoulder, pushing with just enough force to let the boy lie back down slowly. _

_"No, no. Don't get up yet. You just survived what we call a close call." _

_"Huh?" his head was spinning. _

_Colors. _

_Bright white. _

_Hazy green. _

_Dizzying blue. _

_Soothing silver. _

_"You almost died. If it weren't for that – er – odd fellow, you would have been dead." _

_"Odd. . . fellow . . . ?" _

_There was a voice. _

_A metal-gloved hand. Gauntlet? _

_"Well, I couldn't get a glimpse of that fellow because of the hood." _

_Something clicked. _

_"Tenshi-chan . . . Where is she?" _

_"She? I could have sworn he had a man's voice." _

* * *

"Sir, ANBU squad ten has just returned from their hunt." The dog-masked shinobi saluted to his superior. The old man behind the desk took a puff from his pipe before setting it down. 

"I see." He read over the handwritten report. "Any . . . difficulties?"

"None whatsoever, sir. He did not put up a fight."

"Good." He set the paper down and made a mental note to tell his secretary that he'd be out for the whole afternoon. "Tell your team to take the day off and to resume your mission tomorrow. You are dismissed."

The shinobi did not budge. The old man raised his eyebrow.

"If I may, sir."

The old man nodded.

"I have . . . heard several rumors of a blond boy with whisker marks traveling together with a swordsman since two years ago." He began. The old man sighed and then motioned for him to continue. "On our way back to the village, my squad joined up with squad 7 who, as you may or may not know, were also on their way home from an assessment trip in the Lightning Country. Apparently, they overheard from one of Kumogakure no Sato's ANBU squad that there was a strange, young intruder with whisker marks on his cheeks who is being assisted into the capital village."

"I . . . see . . ."

"Sir?"

He stared forlornly at a charred picture, hidden from the line of sight of those not sitting on his side, on his desk. A picture of a blond boy with a large smile.

"You are dismissed. Make sure to report for duty tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

The wizened man gazed out of his window towards monuments.

_Naruto . . . can you really still be alive? _

He sighed as he made his way out the door, making sure to pick up the written report he just received. He then reread the cover just to make sure he got the right one.

Uchiha Itachi – Captured

* * *

"Pervert." 

"For the last time, Uzumaki-san, I am **_not_** a pervert!" she slammed her fist on the table, causing the other jounins and ANBU in the room to look at the blonde duo with mild interest and alarm. She immediately sent chilling glares their way and they quickly averted their eyes as they resumed what they were doing.

"Then why the hell do you want me to be naked?" the blond shot back. "I'm only ten years old, you know?! You're not just a pervert, you're also a pedophile!"

"I'm not trying to get you naked!" she tried to lower her voice just a little bit so that she wasn't shouting. "This is part of the basic protective ANBU gear. Think of this like an undershirt."

"It still is skin tight and will probably be _too_ tight down there."

Yugito's eyes widened in alarm. "I can't believe you know about these things! What kind of brat are you?"

"One of a kind." He grinned cheekily. He then got off from the table he was sitting on and tried to walk towards the exit.

Her hand tightened itself on his shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out the door, pervert." He eyed the black skin-tight suit in her hand. "I am not going to wear that just to fulfill your sick perverted fantasies."

"You know what, fine!"

"You're a pervert?"

"No!" she gritted her teeth. "I told you already, we are going to spar in one of the training fields. If you don't want to change into something else, fine by me. Get those abominable orange clothes you're dirty then, I don't care."

She let go of him and started walking out the door, ignoring the odd stares the other Kumo-nins were giving her, tossing the clothing she was carrying into the clothes basket.

Naruto's smile dimmed slightly before he shrugged and bounded off towards her.

"Yuuuu-chaaaan!" he singsonged her name as he skipped beside her.

"Stop being so annoying, Uzumaki-san." She shot down the shorter blond, not even turning to acknowledge him as he strode beside her merrily.

"But Yuuuu-chaaaan . . . ." he started before grinning. He suddenly stopped and started walking in a different direction. Yugito's hand immediately snatched his collar without breaking her stride, dragging the blond boy towards the training fields.

"I knew you'd miss me, Yu-chan!"

"Shut up."

His stomach suddenly grumbled.

"Hey Yu-chan . . . . I'm hungry . . ."

"Shut up."

Her stomach grumbled.

"You're hungry too, Yu-chan."

". . . Shut up."

* * *

"Uchiha Itachi." 

"Sandaime Hokage-sama." Itachi acknowledged the wizened fire shadow as he turned to the voice. The Uchiha prodigy's arms and legs were chained, spread out against the wall, and his eyes were blindfolded.

"This is quite a surprise. I never would have expected to see you again in my village in my lifetime." He puffed out a smoke. "Tell me, what are you planning?"

"Nothing that I shall tell you of, Hokage-sama."

"Then be gone."

The ANBU surrounding the room started to move closer to the captive. Itachi heard the distinct sound of swords drawn.

"I have, however, but two messages."

The Hokage raised his hand to halt the ANBU's advances. "Are they truths or lies?"

"Truths."

The old Hokage's eyes narrowed. He declined Morino Ibiki's offer to administer truth serum.

"Very well, then." Sandaime decided. "Tell us these truths before you disappear." He stopped as a thought flittered across him. "I too, though, have a question of my own that you must answer before you begin."

"Hokage-sama?"

He took a deep breath.

"Is Orochimaru dead?"

* * *

"Is this really all you can do?" her left eye started twitching as the young sugar bomb howled in agony in front of her. 

"Give me a second!" he called out. He grasped his sagging arm with his working one and, after bracing himself, slammed his body against the nearby tree. Hearing an audible pop, he smiled, though a bit painfully, before grasping the hilt of the large claymore again. "Now I'm ready!"

She eyed him lazily as he charged towards her, dragging the sword against the ground. She sighed and threw a kunai towards the ground in front of him. His blue eyes widened. Naruto tripped over the kunai and, in the process, threw the claymore towards the other jinchuuriki, catching her by surprise. She ducked at the last second and was about to counterattack with another kunai of her own only to find her foe on the ground, groaning as he dislocated his other shoulder.

"Seriously, I thought you were a threat." She commented, disappointed. "And yet, here you are. Not. I bet I can take you on blindfolded, you know."

"Well, that's because you're older!" he shouted back as he fixed his shoulder again.

Her eye started twitching again at the comment. "Well then, let this 'old woman' keep this sword of yours." Ignoring his retort of "I don't see any woman!", Yugito placed her hands on the hilt of the large claymore imbedded deep into the bark of the tree. After holding on to it tightly, she pulled.

It wouldn't budge.

Frowning slightly, she channeled some chakra into her arms and gave another pull. It slowly slid out of the tree and she was mildly amazed at how heavy it was.

_'To think he was carrying this heavy blade . . .' _

"Hey! Give that back to me, Yu-chan!" his voice shouted at her. She turned to him, piercing the blade onto the ground, and folded her arms in front of her, mocking him.

"Well then, come and get it."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and he charged forward towards her. He would have, at least, had the elder jinchuuriki not predicted the move and threw four kunai, each digging into the younger blonde's pants, making him fall hard on his face on the ground. Before the Naruto could even attempt to get up, she threw another set of kunai, this time pinning the sides of his shirt and more of his pants into the ground.

She closed her eyes and gave out a heavy, exaggerated sigh, adding insult to injury. A tingling sensation alerted her in time to open her eyes and block a fist for her face, making her slanted eyes widen.

"H-how . . . ?" she reflexively buried her own fist against his stomach, to which he brought a leg up to block it and kicked himself away, flipping in the air once in order to distance himself from the older blonde. Yugito's eyes briefly darted towards the ground, only to find leaves imbedded on the ground by her kunais, and quickly refocused on the blond attacker, only to find that he was crouched down below her shoulder, unleashing an open-palm strike that impacted against her diaphragm, forcing the air out of her lungs.

'H-how . . . ?' her earlier question echoed in her mind as she saw dark spots once the wind unexpectedly escaped from her lungs. Snapping out of her shock, she held onto the outstretched hand and leaned backwards, kicking up against Naruto's stomach as she flipped backwards, tossing him against the tree behind her as she completed the flip. She immediately flashed through some hand seals, and let loose earth spikes from the ground to pin the blond against the tree.

Naruto kicked off against the tree, righting himself in mid-air and used the earth spikes as a stepping stone for another flip in the air, this time delivering a vicious axe-kick against the chanting jinchuuriki, making her stop preparing her next jutsu in order to block the kick.

He followed up with another axe-kick with his other leg, this time managing to break Yugito's guard and hit the muscle on her shoulder with brutal force.

"H-how . . . ?" she couldn't help but question a third time as she could feel a bruise forming. Anger flashed through her eyes as she started getting thoroughly annoyed. She snarled, this time taking the offensive and delivering two vicious snap-kicks against the blonde's face, slapping both sides of his face as he landed, stunning him. She followed up with a knee to his stomach and continued with an open-palm strike against his chin and a punch to his gut.

She grabbed onto the stunned blonde's arms and pulled, burying her feet against his smaller body as she rolled backwards and kicked him up high into the air. She readied another jutsu and electricity cackled against her hands as she finished her back roll and jumped into the air, punching the falling blond with her fists covered in electricity.

The blond grunted against the pain before delivering a punch of his own against the elder jinchuuriki which was caught in her polarized fist, sending jolts of painfully shocking electricity throughout his arm. He gritted his teeth to keep from yelping out in pain as she caught his other fist. He then planted his feet against her stomach as they fell, impaling her body into the ground and making her release her hold on his arms as she gasped.

He stomped hard once on her chest and quickly flipped backwards, landing a safe distance away from her, panting on the ground as both of his arms felt numb. The body on the ground suddenly burst into black ravens that charged towards him, their beaks sharp and pointy and readily eager to impale him.

He immediately saw through the illusion, however, and dodged the hail of kunai that was the birds, delivering a punch to meet with one of her own as she came into view, the impact sending the both of them flying in opposite directions, him crashing against his large claymore and her against a tree.

She was the first to get up, brushing some dust off her clothes and wiped some blood from her mouth. Her eyes immediately focused on the blond as he slowly stood up, swaying slightly.

"I have to say, Uzumaki-san," he looked up to her as he steadied himself. "I am impressed. So you aren't a total disappointment, after all."

He grinned cheekily before disappearing into the wind. Her eyes widened as she felt another powerful blow make impact with her gut.

"Ah-ah! No taking your eyes away from me, Yu-chan." He grinned. She brought an elbow down aimed towards the top of his head, making him step back. She followed through with a kick which he met with his own, their shins digging against each other.

She winced as she felt another bruise forming.

_'I have to end this.'_

She snarled a barely understandable battle-cry as she brought a fist straight for his chest, sending him backwards a bit. She launched another punch against him, then a kick, then another punch, and followed through with even more devastating combinations of punches and kicks, each blow stronger and faster than the previous, sending the blond backwards with each step until his back was against the wall. She continued her merciless assault before flipping backwards and running through a combination of hand seals mid-air.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" her eyes widened as her mind processed what jutsu she just used. But it was too late. The kunai hidden in the searing flames of the mythical fire phoenix imbedded itself on the young blond as he caught fire.

She immediately tackled the burning blond to the ground and started rolling with him held securely around her arms, trying to put out the flames. She stopped and sat up straight, panic and worry mixing through her system, her heart pounding painfully against her breast as her breathing quickened.

_'Oh please no . . . No!' _

She picked him up and raced off towards the hospital as fast as she could.

The charred body cradled in her strong arms still wasn't moving. She half-expected, half-pleaded for him to be his normal, annoying, surprising self and stir and grin and say that it was all a joke, that he dodged at the last minute and that he was just playing a prank on her.

_'Please . . . please . . . I'm sorry . . . please get up . . .' _

He still wasn't grinning.

_'Please . . . Uzumaki-san . . . Naruto . . .'_

"Get up . . ."

* * *

A/N: I just found another Naruto/Yugito fic . . . it's worth the read, mind you. The story is called "Sun Kissed Jinchuuriki: Nekomata no Nibi" by J3kk. Really good read. Anyways, I wonder if I should keep this strictly Naruto/Yugito because Hanabi kept trying to close all my tenketsu points the other day . . . . . . 

Hmm . . . I think I'll make Hanabi play a role, too!

I hope you all enjoyed the fight scene. It was meant to show some of Naruto's and Yugito's strengths. I even made Naruto show some of his moves. On a side note, Naruto _does _know some ninjutsu. But, he's technically not a ninja in this fic so he doesn't really have an arsenal of jutsu's behind him.

On a side note, does anybody know any free site with a good English – Japanese translator online or for download? As you can see/read, I didn't really give any name for Yugito's jutsus because I didn't know what to name them. Thanks!

Also, for those of you who are wondering, Yugito was able to use a doton jutsu because, well, just because they are from the Land of Lightning, that doesn't mean that they use lightning-element jutsu exclusively. I mean, Konoha shinobi use earth, lightning, wind, fire, and even water jutsu so it's not _weird_.

Shinobi Cup, Golden!

Question time!

Can anybody guess why Naruto needs the money?

_Well, interesting answers but still not right. _

How strong is Naruto?

_Well, as you can see, not **that **strong . . . or is he? _

As usual, review!


	4. Defrosted Tuna

A/N: I would like to thank all of those who reviewed and, well, I don't normally do this but here're some replies:

**FinalSleeper**: Well, Naruto is a bit trained in the shinobi arts. I guess. Anyways, because of that comment about Raki, you just gave me an idea to further the plot. A second arc, if you will. But, I'll have to wait for Raki to re-appear in the manga first before making any final decisions.

**Servant of K-sama**: not too sure about that. I haven't come across any evidence that the kyuubi wasn't mindless during the attack. Sure he/she could topple mountains and stuff but, so what? That doesn't mean he/she actually was using his/her mind.

**TheDon1023**: Naruto isn't part of Akatsuki. Probably. That's all we need to know. But, him going to Kumo is, believe it or not, just a coincidence. In a way, at least, since he wasn't really expecting to run into another jinchuuriki. That's the coincidence part.

**RobotPirateNinja**: Ah! That's the term I was looking for! Versatile! By the power rankings, it's their, for lack of a better term, "base stats". They're physically that strong, but, as you have correctly stated, the youma are less versatile. Thanks for reminding me of the term!

**dlight**: Dunno Abel but Son Goku from Dragonball can totally own anybody you throw. Except Gogeta or Vegito . . . and maybe Brolly . . . and Neo-Reaper Isabeau SSJ9 XD

**Sharkteeth**: I'm trying to put in as much plot twists as I can. :D

**Bulrog the god**: My first reviewer! Thanks! Anyway, I'm trying to depict Naruto differently. Also, well, this is just a theory but, if someone kind-hearted and forgiving undergoes what Naruto did and doesn't snap in the bad sense, this is what I think he'll be. Not sure. I'm no expert in psychology stuff. I'm barely scraping my butt off in biology. sniff some Medic I'm gonna become . . .

**Hiroshima Namikaze**: I don't know what to make of your reviews. If you're offended by what I just wrote, well, sorry I guess.

Alright! Enough of that, here's chapter 4!

* * *

Anguished screams and demonic roars filled the land. Dusk never seemed so long to the ninjas who survived the first onslaught.

"Hold it at bay!" the ninja screamed as he clutched the stump that was his arm a few minutes prior. The monster in front of him eyed him with a fiery look. "Hold it at bay and keep it there! Wait till the-"

He fell down, eyes wide and dimming, unbelieving that he was already dead.

The monster continued its approach, the ninja's around it attacking and dying by the second. Bodies and blood and guts filled the forest. Jutsus were cast, shuriken and kunai were thrown. The monster walked passed it, getting even more agitated with each step.

"WHERE IS HE?!" it screamed. "GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!" Another hail of kunai rained down on it and it roared, the earth shaking as if in fear of the monstrosity standing above it. The Land of Earth trembled before the Awakened. "GIVE HIM BACK TO ME, YOU BASTARDS!"

The ninjas rallied as one once more, trying to drive the monster - _demon_ - away from their village. The monster lashed out and their numbers immediately dwindled to a few. More bodies littered the ground and the creature growled into the night

Several yards away, a lone ninja stood, his cape billowing in the wind, as he eyed the scene unfolding in front of him disbelievingly. _This is madness!_ His mind screamed as wave after wave of ninjas charged at the monster and wave after wave of ninjas fell. _Complete and utter madness! _

The anguished screams of his men snapped him back into reality. He charged at the demon, hands running through one hand seal after another, casting one justu after the other.

"Fall back, fall back now!" he shouted at the injured ninjas. The ninjas willingly complied.

"Hai, Tsuchikage-sama!"

Pillars and hands of earth burst from the ground, surrounding the monster, and held on to its legs, dragging it down to the ground as the demonic beast looked around, wondering why its opponents suddenly left. The ground the monster was stepping on suddenly turned hot and it looked down to see molten rock seeping from the ground like water. Earth spikes erupted from the ground, trying to impale the beast and hold it in place. Snarling, the creature looked up to see the Tsuchikage with his bo-staff in hand, its unbreakable chakra-enhanced diamond coating surrounded by cackling electricity, both arms poised back for a swing, preparing to deliver a crippling – possibly fatal - blow.

"Die, demon!"

The monster growled as the staff shattered like glass upon impact.

"Tsuchikage-sama!" the ninjas nearby screamed in horror as the Tsuchikage found his eyes locked onto the demon's burning silver, the remnants of his now broken weapon held in a white-knuckled grip.

The demon's hand shot forward and Iwa's Kage burst into dirt, the dust eventually igniting and exploding, hoping to distract the demon enough for him to re-evaluate his strategy. He felt a presence and looked behind him, only to see the monstrosity unscathed, standing behind him with a very angry look, its face mere inches from his own.

"GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!"

"Oh fucking shit."

All hell broke loose.

"Tsuchikage-sama!"

* * *

"I am up, y'know?"

She stopped mid-air and landed on a tree branch, her eyes wide as stared in front of her.

"Uzumaki . . . san?" she uttered in disbelief. There, in front of her on another tree branch, stood the boy whom she thought dead, smiling at her with his usual smile.

"Yo, Yu-chan!" he waved at her cheerfully.

She looked down to the body cradled on her arms and saw that the unconscious Naruto was still there. "H-how?"

"Ne, Yu-chan, I think it would be wise to let go of that thing." He jumped off towards her and whispered in her ear. "Detonating explosives aren't very pleasing, after all."

She reacted immediately and threw the body towards the air where, sure enough, it exploded with the force of an exploding clone. _Clone?_ She blinked and cursed her stupidity. _Of course! An exploding clone!_

She glared at the blond smiling sheepishly beside her and gave him a hard slap.

"Ow! What was that for?" he whined, rubbing his now reddened cheek.

"Hmph." She jumped and landed on another branch in front of her. "Uzumaki-san, come. It's getting late." She leapt off towards another tree and, sure enough, he followed. She tried to still her beating heart and wondered why it was pounding so fast.

_Why did I slap him, anyway?_ At the back of her mind, the Nekomata blinked and before gaining a look of realization. The Nibi smiled like a Cheshire cat before purring.

_**My, oh my, how time flies . . .**_

_What was that?_

_**Oh, you were eavesdropping again, Yu-chan.**_

Yugito's eyes widened. _Not you too! Never mind, what were you saying again?_

_**Nothing, Yu-chan.**_ Yugito's eye twitched and she almost missed landing on a branch. _**Nothing at all.**_

She turned back to see the younger blond still following her. _That makes me even more suspicious, you know._

The blond noticed her staring and waved at her. She immediately looked back to where she was going.

_**I know.**_ She had the image of the Nekomata licking her lips. _**Isn't that what makes things more interesting?**_

_Hn._

She abruptly stopped, the young blond stopping right beside her.

"Yu-chan?"

She eyed the young boy critically. The boy, in turn, twirled and struck a pose, making the elder jinchuuriki's eye twitch again. She seemed to be doing that more often, now that she thought about it.

"Anything wrong, Yu-chan?" The blond asked curiously as he dropped his pose. Inwardly, he was actually getting uncomfortable at the weird woman (pedophile) who continued to stare at him, a bit unnerved that she was eyeing him and he couldn't tell what was going through her mind. Not that he cared, anyways. Really.

"Uzumaki-san . . ." she was . . . well, she didn't know what she was feeling. On one side, she was relieved that the boy was still alive, given that she lost herself to her battle-lust and anger and, truthfully, the boy should have died. Plain and simple. However, part of her was miffed that she failed to kill the young lad, that the fact that she wasn't strong enough to kill a ten-year-old kid, not to mention she was fooled by that same ten-year-old kid, hurt her pride more than she thought. Her feelings were really vexing her. "Who taught you how to fight?"

She blinked and cursed. She should have expected this. Really, she should have. And so, without further ado, she promptly disappeared in search of the runaway blond. Again.

_Nibi?_

_**Yes?**_

_I hate you, you know that, right?_

_**And I am you.**_

She landed on a branch and propelled herself to the next.

_Good._

* * *

_He didn't know what he was doing. He was scared and confused and just wanted __**her**__ to come and take him away and shield and protect him. Like **she** promised. He wanted to be able to ride on **her** shoulders again and he wanted, more than anything, to hug **her** and reassure himself that he was not alone. That he was no longer alone._

"_Tenshi-chan!" he cried out into the night. Whatever birds that did not flee during the incident and were resting in the trees fluttered out from them, trying to run away from the pained wail of the young blond. "Tenshi-chan, come back!"_

_He remembered their eyes, their black clothes with blood red clouds. He remembered seeing, more than anything, **it** come and remembered _how _**it** proceeded to tear one of them to pieces. The other tried attacking **it** and was met with the same fate. When the one-sided slaughter was over, **it **eyed him and took a step closer towards him and he flinched._

_He was scared._

_**It **__stopped with that step. He saw __**its**__ eyes just as it disappeared into the night, leaving blotches of blood and pieces of flesh and torn trees and just so much blood around him. __**It**__ left him in that clearing filled with the unbearable presence of death. _

_He curled his trembling body into a ball as cold tears finally slid down his whiskered cheek. Tears that should not have fallen as Tenshi-chan told him he should not cry, that she would always be there to make sure he no longer would cry._

_**It**__ stared at him with intensity before he left. Intensity of what, did not know. Anger, perhaps? Hunger? Compassion? Hurt? He did not know. He did not know and his young mind could not comprehend the meaning behind the intensity. The only feeling he had was a hollow feeling that he thought he would never have to feel ever again. He knew that intensity. He knew it, yet he did not know what it meant. But he knew it, that feeling. __**It**__ was trying to tell him something._

"_Tenshi-chan . . ."_

_A glint of silver struck his eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He stood up, shakily, and ran – wobbled – towards the glint and saw it. **Her** sword. **Her** massive claymore jutting out from some man's – a wooden man's – chest. He walked towards it, shakily, trying to make sense of the carnage around him._

'_Get away from me, brat.'_

'_I told you to get away from me.'_

'_Don't make me hurt you, brat. I will.'_

'_Why . . .?' _

'_You're . . . you're so stubborn and foolish. Brat.'_

'_I will die for you, little one.'_

'_You are no longer alone, little one. And neither am I.'_

'_Hide, little one. They're here!'_

'_I'm sorry. Don't look at me like that, I'm serious.'_

'_Leave him alone!'_

'_Give him back to me!'_

'_I will kill all of you!'_

'_I'd do anything, young one.'_

_Something clicked._

_He wiped his tears and steeled himself. He reached out, both of his little hands grasping the claymore's handle tightly and he pulled, sliding the blade little by little out of the body._

"_I'm sorry, Tenshi-chan." He whispered into the wind. "I will find you. That's a promise."_

* * *

He downed the liquid with one fell swoop, the burning sensation on his throat and the dullness creeping into his mind still not enough. Definitely not enough.

"Barkeep! Another one!" he hollered towards the middle-aged man behind the long table. The man grunted back before complying. Another bottle of sake was placed beside him. He chucked the small cup away and uncorked the bottle, tilting his head back as he downed the drink. He slammed the now empty bottle onto the counter, effectively shattering it to pieces.

"Damn it Kisame!" the barkeep exclaimed. "The least you could do is not cause more problems for my business." He motioned to the people clearing away from where the blue-skinned nukenin sat.

"Aw shut up and get give me another bottle!"

"Go clean up your mess first!"

Another time ago, he would have introduced the man to the late Samehada. Another time ago, he would have grinned, baring his fangs and sharp teeth, and enjoy tormenting the barkeep to no end. Another time ago, he would have killed the man for talking to him _that _way.

He grunted as he picked up the shards and chucked them into the bin.

But that was _another time_ ago.

He sat back down on his seat and grumbled as another bottle was placed in front of him. He uncorked it and took a large sip before placing it back on the table as he lay his head on the hardwood, eyes trained at the glint shining off the sake's silvery-white container.

_"You'll pay for this, witch!" he shouted at the woman as she replaced her blade on her back. Beside him, his partner was clutching at his eyes as tears of blood streamed down from them. He himself was grasping the stump where his sword-arm used to be. _

_"Enough, Kisame." His partner said through strained breaths. "Retreat. Now." _

_He grabbed the fallen part of his arm before the duo disappeared in a poof of smoke. The silver-eyed warrior behind them glared at the departing figures before turning around, motioning for a small blond boy to come out of hiding and follow her. _

"I never thought I'd see you here." The shark-man grumbled as a cloaked figure sat down on the stool beside him.

"I never thought you'd ever bow your head to a mere civilian." The man said calmly. "One bottle of sake and one plate of dango, please."

"Sure thing." The barkeep nodded pleasantly.

Kisame raised a brow. "Please?"

The man shrugged as his order was placed in front of him. "It is a convenient word."

Silence fell on the pair as the blue-skinned man eyed his bottle of sake again. The man beside him started chewing the dango served. He then took poured the clear liquid on a saucer before taking a sip. The man set his saucer down before sitting back, the tenseness of his position slowly fading.

"Kisame."

The shark-man responded by rolling his eyes upwards to look at his ex-partner.

"It is time for you to come back." red eyes peered down at the blue-skinned man. "It is time for Akatsuki to return."

* * *

One would have expected that, with the absence of Konohagakure no Sato's blond bane, the streets would be safe to walk on. Sadly, though, that was not the case. Similar with the succession of leaders, as one bane disappears, another is born. This new bane, albeit not even remotely close to be as hated as the former, stalked the streets of the village with his sinister laugh.

"Hihihihihihi . . ."

Several kids' eyes perked up at the strange man and eventually to the bright orange book held in the man's hand.

"Aha! Hihihihi. . ."

A random girl walked passed him, her eye twitching as she heard his giggle.

"Hmm? Oh! Ehehehehehe . . ."

Another passerby, a woman in her mid-twenties, diverted her child away from the man.

"Oho! Hohohoho!"

He bumped into something. Rather, someone. Someone soft, if the pressure against his hand was any indication. He looked up from his hand and saw the red face – and equally red eyes – of one Chuunin named Yuuhi Kurenai. He looked back at his book . . .

"Tee-hee . . ."

. . .and giggled.

"Ha-ta-ke-san." She drawled out slowly, angrily. Seeing as she still didn't get his attention, she placed her hand on his perverted book, intent on taking it away from him –

"Ugh."

Only to find her arm held in an arm lock.

"Ah?" the copy-nin looked down from his book and immediately let the angry woman go. "Maa, Kurenai-san, sorry about that. Survival instincts kicked in." He smiled sheepishly. "So, what's up?"

Dusting herself, she huffed and fixed the taller, higher-ranked ninja with a glare. "What's up?" Kakashi suddenly felt a chill run through his spine. "You're asking me what's up?! You just walked through a playground filled with kids reading that perverted book of yours out in the open and you're asking me 'what's up'?!"

Kakashi cowered before the angry woman as she seemed to grow larger and demonic. "Kurenai-san! Using genjutsu unprovoked against a fellow Konoha-nin is consider as an assault!"

"I am not using genjutsu!" she shouted, making him cower even more. "I am not asking you this time. Read your book away from the children!"

"But Kurenai-san! The children didn't read it!"

"That is irrelevant yet fortunate! Stop reading your stupid smut in public!"

"Mommy, what's smut?" Kurenai froze. She snapped towards the direction of the voice and saw a little boy looking up questioningly at his very angry mother.

"Dearie, just forget the word that woman just said and go play in the playgrounds with the other kids." She forced a smile at the little boy. "Okay?"

The boy nodded and scampered off, the mother following him shortly after fixing the two Konoha-nins with a glare.

"A-as I was saying, Hatake-san." She turned her attention back to the copy-nin, only to find him buried in his smut once more. The vein on her forehead bulged. "Stop that, Hatake-san!"

"Ah, lighten up, Yuuhi-chan." An amused voice cut in. She glared at the newcomer.

"Don't you even try to defend him, Sarutobi-san."

Asuma grinned sheepishly, his cigarette somehow not falling from his mouth. "Well, how about I give you some advice?"

She continued to glare at him. He smiled back and pointed at Kakashi. "That's not Kakashi."

As if replying to some unspoken command, 'Kakashi' blew up into a puff of white clouds, leaving no trace of the copy-nin where he once stood. Kurenai saw red at realizing that she'd been had by the open pervert and that that same pervert was still walking around Konoha with that accursed smut of his. She was about to storm off to locate the man before she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Give him a break, Yuuhi-chan. He's been having it rough these past two years."

"He's already had two years, Sarutobi-san." She responded curtly. "I'd have figured a man of his status and prestige would have gotten over it already."

"Kakashi _did_ make Jounin when he was still a pre-teen." Asuma shrugged before blowing out a puff of smoke, being careful to blow it away from the Chuunin's direction. Seeing her look on for an explanation, he simplified his statement. "He's messed up."

"It . . . it still doesn't give him the right to read his smut in public."

"Well, he _is_ messed up." The Jounin started walking away. He then looked back at he red-eyed woman and grinned cheekily. "Oh, by the way, it's Asuma-kun next time, okay?"

Kurenai stood there for a minute before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Asuma continued to walk down a corner then looked back, checking if the Chuunin was still nearby. Satisfied that she was gone, 'Asuma' pulled out a familiar orange book and giggled pervertedly before dropping his henge and resumed walking.

"Well now, where was I?"

* * *

The blond opened his eyes, squinting at the darkness that greeted him. He tried bringing a hand close up for his eyes to see and found out he could not see anything. He grinned then winced as pain lanced through his body. His hand fell back down to his side and he continued grinning, coughing a bit, then just lay there.

It always came during the quiet times; the times where he was left alone. The all-too familiar darkness only added to it. The all-too familiar pain only encouraged it.

How long had it been, since he lay down on the ground, beaten and bleeding? Two years seemed like such a distant memory for the young blond. It had been two years since he felt this pain and emptiness.

It had been two years since he stopped laying on the ground, staring up at the darkness that threatened to engulf him, his blue eyes staring up at the darkness that mocked and scoffed at his beaten, abandoned form. Had it really been that long?

His smile cracked.

_'I will always be with you' _

His hands, shaking, clamped over his ears and he clenched his eyes shut as he ignored the pain, curling up on his side, the tremors from his hand transferring to his body. He kept trying to keep the voice in his head, trying to prevent it from escaping.

He wanted to hear her voice again. He wanted to hear her voice again so, so badly. So very badly that the long-forgotten ache in his chest welled up once more.

He abruptly stilled. His eyes suddenly opened and blinked before hardening. He already promised himself that he would change. He promised himself that he would get stronger and get Tenshi-chan back.

And he was Uzumaki Naruto, the blond sugar bomb that never went back on his promises.

With that in mind, he slammed his fists against the ground as he struggled to rise. His joints were cracking under the pressure and pain lanced throughout his body once more but he ignored them. He ignored them for he knew he had to be strong.

And damn the Shinigami if he didn't.

* * *

A/N: This is getting too tiring to write. I mean, I'm starting to get irritated at my writing style. I've got the plot, I've got the idea, and I've got the feel. I just don't have the way of expressing it. . . which really sucks . . .

Shinobi Cup, Golden!

_Question Time_

Should the Kyuubi be male or female? What should his/her name be?

Should I change the title of this fic? I can think of a different title, see, see.

As always, please review!


	5. Whispered Woes

**A/N:** Well, as usual, this will be finished part by part. Shrugs. Exams are near and so is _Amatsuki_, _Code Geass R2_, and even more anime to watch than last time! This can only mean one thing. Crap XD

What makes this even more crappy is that _Rental Magica _and_ KimiAru_ ended, which sucks 'cause they were so good, especially their respective final episode! Ahem, excuse the rant.

I'd like to thank all my reviewers, who have dared to even read this fanfic. I mean, seriously, this stuff is confusing. Anyways, here's chapter 5!

Enjoy!

* * *

"Raikage-sama" she appeared in front of the old man, crouching on one knee in front of him

Dusk was settling as the last rays of the yellow-orange sun were fading and the silvery wisps of the moon's glow crept in. She had spent the last hour scouring the training ground for signs of her wayward charge. A wasted effort.

It seemed the blond sugar bomb could only be found when he wanted to. Her eyes hardened.

"Raikage-sama" she appeared in front of the old man, crouching on one knee in front of him. "I have lost Uzumaki-san."

The old man's eyes widened. "Where?"

"We were sparring in Training Ground 11. On our way back, I lost track of him."

"You lost track of a little boy?" the Raikage was surprised. "Why didn't you continue looking for him?"

"There lies the problem, Raikage-sama." She paused, choosing her word carefully. "It seems he can't be found unless he wants to."

Yugito's senses twitched and she whirled around, brandishing a kunai in a battle-ready stance. "Who goes there?"

"It's just me!"

_Kami I dread that voice . . ._ she thought ruefully as she recognized the figure. _Would have been better if he hadn't shown up. I'd get to hunt him down, then._ The young blond stepped out onto the light, his wide grin now visible. He plunged his massive blade on the ground before leaning against it then waved at her.

"Yo! Yu-chan! Kage-sama!"

The Raikage let out a sigh of relief. _Now all I have to figure out is where he went._

"Ah, Naruto-kun, I trust your spar with Nii-kun went alright?" he smiled warmly at the youth. Naruto nodded cheerfully in turn before latching onto a surprised Yugito's arm.

"Ne, ne, Yu-chan," the blond grinned. "Teach me those tricks you used, please!"

"Get off me, Uzumaki-san!" Yugito half-yelled back, trying not to raise her voice despite the irritation she was feeling. She tried shaking him off but to no avail. "And don't call them tricks. They're jutsu; ninja techniques. Just like those you were doing."

"Meh, ninja techniques are all just a bunch of tricks!" he stuck his tongue out. "I only know one trick though." He eventually let go and the young woman gave an un-womanly huff. "So, teach me yours!"

"No."

"But Yu-chan!" he blinked innocently up at her. "Please?"

_By the Shinigami! The puppy-dog eyes!_

_**What awesome power!**_

"Ahem." The Raikage coughed. Two pairs of eyes snapped towards the old man. "As amusing as this is, I fear these old bones need to retire for the night." He gave an exaggerated sigh before turning. "Nii-kun, you can hand in your report tomorrow. For now, I believe you should help him settle in. Good night, Naruto-kun. Nii-kun."

"Nighty!"

"Hai, Raikage-sama." She watched the old man as he started walking. "Good night, Raikage-sama." She bowed her head a bit. Naruto stared up at her wonderingly as she kept her head bowed until the Raikage was out of sight. Her eyes shifted as they felt the blond boy's gaze on her.

She did_ not_ like the sparkle in those eyes.

"Ne, Yu-chan." The boy grinned. "Are you-"

"Not a word, Naruto-san." Her voice was cold. "Not a word."

The blond merely grinned in return.

* * *

"Your decision, Hokage-sama?" a rather portly man, a representative of the merchant guild, to his right questioned respectfully.

The old man looked over the faces of the council, trying to gauge their reactions. Not surprisingly, there were many who looked eager, far more than those that looked on impassively. His wizened gaze fell on Danzo, the old war-hawk. He returned the gaze coolly, and Sarutobi knew he was thinking and meticulously reviewing all the possible ways he could exploit whatever outcome arouse.

"Uchiha Itachi has confirmed the continued existence of the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. This is also supported by sightings of the _boy_ in the mountains of Kumo." Hyuuga Hiashi spoke, urging the old Hokage to reach a decision. "It would be . . . beneficial to have the boy return to Konoha."

The rest of the council reacted immediately.

"Let's send an ANBU squad to spy on him!"

"No! I say we just send an ANBU squad to assassinate him!"

"No, having the boy in the village would ensure our strength!"

"Listen to yourself! The boy will not be our strength, he _is_ our downfall!"

"Bringing him back here will do us no good!"

"I agree! Why, he must be in Kumo now as we speak! Plotting against us, selling our secrets! Who knows what sacrilegious words he is spreading about us?! He must be detained! Exterminated!"

"Yeah! Kill him!"

"SILENCE!" Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk, getting everyone's attention. The old man then turned to his side, adressing a quiet figure. "Shikaku-dono, what do you make of this situation?"

The Nara clan head looked up and glared at the council for not being able to settle a simple matter such as this by themselves before stifling a yawn. "Hm . . . this is so troublesome. Think clearly for once." He stared down the angry faces of the civilian council then sighed. "Look, Itachi says that the boy is alive. Itachi says there's another 'Kyuubi' out there. Itachi also says that the boy _may_ play a key role in the new Kyuubi's defeat. So, get the boy and lock him up. Train him, and sick the boy on the new Kyuubi." He sighed. "Who knows, the two might just kill each other and then we're free of our problems. Che. Troublesome lot."

Danzo's demeanor relaxed, accepting Shikaku's wise and effective decision. Sarutobi, however, frowned as the rest of the council nodded amongst to each other, most likely liking the idea of this simple solution of how to strike these two birds with one stone. The Hokage sighed, slightly put off by the Nara's apathetic attitude. He trusted that the Nara Head would be able to think of a solution of bringing Naruto back to Konoha without harm, due to the Nara's neutrality towards the boy. Shikaku's neutrality, however, worked both ways; not caring for the boy's misery _and_ not caring for the boy's happiness.

"Of course," the mumbling ceased as Shikaku opened a bored eye at them. "There's still the troublesome problem of him being in Kumogakure no Sato." Everyone watched in expectancy at what the Nara was thinking as he closed his eyes. A period of silence fell on them as they waited. Finally, the Nara head's eyes opened and he spoke. "I'll leave that all up to you."

The reactions were instantaneous.

"WHAT?!"

Inoichi slapped a hand against his forehead. Trust his ex-teammate to leave the _more_ troublesome aspects of a mission to other people. Chouza hid a smile behind a bag of chips. The Hokage resisted the urge to slam his head on the table.

And Danzo?

. . .

Who knows what he's plotting now?

* * *

Yugito blinked as she stared at her apartment. Everything changed, from the dilapidated table that served as a dining table to the speck of dust on the curtains. Heck, the curtains themselves changed! She had to check and recheck if she got the right door since her room was never this clean.

And her curtains were never _**this**_ bad.

"Ponies?" the blond by sniggered. "Why, Yu-chan, I never knew. I thought you were more of a catty person!"

_**Yes Yu-chan. I'm hurt.**_

"Shut up." She huffed as she closed the door behind her. She was still taking in the changes in her room (she did a quick genjutsu scan). Why, she could literally see the room sparkling! And it was nighttime already! Of course, her rational side finally kicked in.

_Raikage-sama must have sent a genin team to clean up my room. _She approached the dining table and ran a finger across its surface, checking for any sign of dust. _This must be for Uzumaki-san's sake._ Her eyes narrowed. She didn't understand why the _idiotic_ blond got special treatment. She didn't understand what he did to _deserve_ special treatment. _She_ was far more useful; far _stronger_ and had far more _experience_ than the idiot child. Brat.

"Yu-chan?" her musings were cut off and she glared at the ten-year old. He had taken off his orange vest and was now clad in his black shirt and orange pants. He held the hilt of his sword in one hand. He was looking at her wonderingly and she couldn't help but notice that his cheery eyes disappeared . . . for a brief second. "Ne, ne, where am I gonna sleep? I only saw one bed here so do we get to sleep on the same bed?"

_Hell_ "No." She glared. "You are to sleep on the couch. I only have one bed and it is mine." She saw him pout. "It was you who insisted to stay in my residence, Uzumaki-san. It is only fair that I retain my right of claim of the bed while you rest on the couch."

"B-b-but! I'm only a kid!" he stammered. "It's not wrong for a kid and a teen to share the same bed!" he whined.

"This is not about what is right and wrong, Uzumaki-san." She briefly wondered if she'll ever understand the way the other Jinchuuriki's mind work. Something clicked. "Uzumaki-san, weren't you just complaining a while ago about me being a pedophile?"

"You're agreeing?"

"No!" she quickly composed herself. "What I'm saying is, why do you insist on us sleeping on the same bed? Aren't you afraid that I _might_ just be a pedophile?"

"So you _are_ admitting it!"

"NO!" she shouted a bit louder than previously.

"Then I've got no worries sleeping on the same bed as you!" he chirped. "Besides, if anyone asks, you can just say I am your son!"

"I'm seventeen, Uzumaki-san!" she was appalled by the boy's suggestion. "I can not possibly have a ten-year-old son at this age!"

"Well, I don't want you to be my mom, anyways." The blond shrugged. "So, can I sleep on the bed?"

"No."

"Well, if you don't want to sleep on the same bed then you can take the couch."

"Need I remind you, Uzumaki-san, that you are an _uninvited_ guest in ­­_my_ apartment?"

"Hmm . . ." the blond seemed to ponder over something. Yugito, too, started to think of how she could convince the blond without resorting to anything too . . . drastic. "Fine." Naruto decided. "I'll take the couch and you can take your bed."

She was a bit puzzled at how he nonchalantly dropped the subject, given how adamant he was about it before. Her slanted eyes narrowed. "You can't guilt me, Uzumaki-san."

"I'm not trying to." He grinned back at her. "Now, what's there to eat? Is there anything tasty?"

She, too, wondered if there was anything tasty to eat. After all, if _Raikage-sama_ sent a genin team in preparation for Uzumaki-san's stay, then surely he restocked her refrigerator, right?

She approached and opened said appliance and the Nibi gasped.

_**Salmon! Yu-chan, look! Salmon!**_

_Salmon!_ She felt lightheaded. Salmon was very rare – and expensive - in this part of Lighting Country! Of course, now that she thought about it, this must have been just a one-time thing. Surely, this was just to celebrate Uzumaki-san's stay and to make him feel welcome.

Ignoring the dull ache in her heart (for which she didn't know the cause) she took out the tray of fish and turned, forcing a smile (she didn't know how she looked like, smiling, but she had to, anyway) at the youth. "Looks like we're having salmon tonight, Uzumaki-san, in celebration of your stay here in Kumogakure no Sato."

Oddly enough, that same, non-cheery looked flashed briefly before the blonde's expression turned cheerful again. "Waaai! Thanks, Yu-chan!" He leaned his blade against a wall and approached her. "Do you want me to cook it? I know how to cook!"

"I don't think frying fish against an open fire is considered cooking." She shot back. Naruto pouted. "At least, not for this type of fish, _Uzumaki-san_." She turned. "I suggest you get settled in. Change. Take a bath. Freshen up. Whatever. _I'll_ go cook this in the meantime."

Yugito noticed the boy wasn't moving. Something then dawned to her. "You don't have a change of clothes, do you?"

Naruto grinned back and shook his head in response. The blonde teen cursed under her breath. Not only was the child an idiot with a lucky streak, he was also _filthy _(in the literal sense, of course). She set the tray on the table and closed her eyes, folding her arms.

Silence dawned on the duo as Yugito thought of her options and Naruto . . . well, Naruto was thinking of what to do next. Finally, Yugito's eyes opened, just in time to see the young blond about to sneak off. Her hand immediately latched onto his dark blue shirt's collar and dragged him towards her bedroom.

" . . . I am telling you in advance, do not complain, Uzumaki-san." She had no choice. She really did. So, with that in mind, she reluctantly _had_ to lend him something to wear. She didn't have much female clothing since she never really had time to be a _girl_, except for certain missions that asked for the use of her gender. She had, at most, maybe two dresses and one pair of stilettos to comprise her feminine wardrobe. That, and her undergarments, of course. But even then, they were nothing special. So, the rest of her wardrobe consisted of either shinobi gear or shirts and trousers. Neither of which she felt comfortable lending the boy. "I am also uncomfortable with what I am about to do."

Naruto looked up curiously as he was let go. Yugito opened her drawers, looking for something that the young boy could use. Her mind continued to think of the implications of his not having a change of clothes until it came to a startling thought.

Did he even _have_ a spare change of _underwear_?

_That_ she could not lend him. And if he didn't, then _it_ will be in full contact with her clothing. And, despite the fact that he was still a ten year old boy, _that_ still wasn't a very comfortable thought. She repressed the shudder that went through her.

"U-Uzumaki-san . . ." her voice hitched. How in Kami's name was she supposed to ask him if he had a spare change of undergarments? "D-do y-you . . ." Maybe that's why he was so reluctant to change into ANBU gear and _why_ he kept accusing her of being a pedophile. "You know. Do you have an extra . . . you know? It . . ."

The blond boy tilted his head.

"What I mean is, you _do_ have an extra one . . . right?" Her face was already red and she kept fighting down her embarrassment. She eyed _that_ part of him, trying to see if there was anything holding _it_.

Naruto's blue eyes followed her gaze. Both their eyes widened in horror. "Y-Yu-chan!" he covered himself with one hand and pointed an accusing finger at her with the other. Yugito took a step back as if struck. "I knew it!"

"N-no!"

"You are . . ."

"Don't say it!"

". . . a pedophile!"

"It wasn't supposed to look like that!"

"What was _it_ supposed to look like, then?!"

"I was examining it!"

"Aha!"

"NO! I didn't mean it that way!"

"Pedophile! I feel like I just got raped!"

"How in Kami's name can you think of these things?!"

"It doesn't matter, you're a pedophile!"

"L-let me explain!"

"I trusted you!"

"Listen to me!"

"I trusted you, Yu-chan!"

"Why don't you just shut up and listen to me!?" she shouted as she started pulling at her own hair to keep herself from strangling the boy. She relaxed when no reply come from the boy. He was squinting at her, as if deciding if he should trust her again or not.

She thanked Kami for finally letting the boy listen. "Look, I was just checking it out-"

"I KNEW IT!"

Yugito cursed her poor choice of words.

_**This is going to be a long night, ne Yu-chan?**_

* * *

Kisame glared as a familiar figure sat on the stool beside him. "I told you guys to give me more time."

The figure game him a look before calling the barkeep and placing an order. "Your strength is needed, Kisame."

"Feh." The shark-man grumbled. "If it is needed, then wait."

"This is unlike you, Kisame." The figure took a sip from the glass. "The Kisame I knew would bare his fangs at a challenge, not drink his sorrows away."

He snorted. "Well, they're not away so I need to drink more."

"Kisame . . ."

"Look, I know you were there." He downed the cup in front of him. "I know you also felt the terror that _that thing_ unleashed." He found his cup filled with sake again, courtesy of the figure beside him. He glared at the figure before downing the sake once more. "Why do you still insist on fighting _that_ monster?"

"Because it is what the leader would have wanted." Sorrow seemed to creep in the smaller figure's blank eyes. "We unleashed a horror. It is our responsibility to stop it."

The blue-skinned man glared. "Oh, and so having Deidara bait _it _to battle the Tsuchikage was the responsible way of dealing with that abomination." He chugged down another shot, slamming the cup against the table, shattering it.

"Damn it, Kisame! You're cleaning that one!" the barkeep shouted from the other side of the bar.

"You've changed, Kisame." The figure commented.

"Yeah well, when you're half-dead, with your body halved, and your trusty partner shattered to shards because the difference in power was just that great, you tend to get disillusioned." He flicked the shards into the bin in front of him with great accuracy. Mere child's play for a ninja of his caliber, of course.

"So this is about your pride?"

"This is about my life!" he growled at the figure. "I almost died, out there, thinking I could take that _monster_ on. Never in my life had I been so outclassed. The mere impact of my blade against that _monster's_ skin shattered _my_ partner, _my_ Samehada! Even that sneaky bastard, Tobi or Madara or whatever the fuck his name was, died! This is not about pride anymore. This is about _my_ honour!"

"This is still about your pride, Kisame." The figure stated, unaffected by the killer intent the other nuke-nin sent. The smaller figure took a sip from the cup, emptying its contents. "If you will not fight to save, then fight to regain your pride."

The figure stood up and brought forth a scroll, placing it in front of the ex-shinobi of Kirigakure no Sato. "When you are ready, open that scroll." The figure started walking towards the door. Kisame glared at the figure's back.

"What will I do with it, then?"

The cloaked figure looked back, giving him a blank stare. "You will know."

He eyed the swirl of paper that signified her departure. "You sure are one crazy bitch, aren'tcha?"

* * *

_"Didn't I tell you not to follow me?" the silver-eyed warrior stared at the swaying blond several steps behind her, approaching her slowly. "You're very persistent for a brat."_

_"Meh . . ." the blond winced as he neared the figure. "Can't I just come with you?"_

_"No." she turned around and started walking again. She heard the heavy footsteps of the boy as he struggled to keep up. "How long have you been following me? Since yesterday, wasn't it?" she spoke without looking back._

_"Y-yeah . . ." the blond huffed as he quickened his pace, leaning forward and reaching out to try and grab the end of her midnight-blue cloak to help himself walk. The woman, noticing the blonde boy's hand reach out for her cloak, immediately drew it back and started to walk faster. The blond let out a distressed cry as he stuggled to maintain his balance. "A-ah!"_

_"You have not eaten anything since last night, haven't you?" the woman questioned, rather, stated. She could feel the young boy's fatigue and his passive chakra emission was very low. She knew that the blond boy would collapse any moment now. "Give up. You won't last. The sun is about to set."_

_"T-Tenshi-chan . . ." the blond swayed again, this time hitting the ground hard as he could no longer keep himself up. He looked up at her armor-clad figure, her dark blue cloak dancing with the wind as she eyed him with her lone silver eye. _

_"You have proven your persistence. It is time for you to stop." she saw him claw at the ground, crawling towards her. Her eye narrowed at the blonde's action. "I was mistaken. You are not persistent. You are foolish." She looked around for signs of a near by village. She was disappointed to find none. "No matter, this is still the end of your little escapade."_

_She spotted the end of the forest and started walking towards it. The little blond pushed himself up and steadied himself. He willed his legs to move as he wobbled after her._

_"T-Tenshi . . . chan . . ." he weakly called after her. She stopped and turned around, as if waiting for him. He smiled as he saw her stop, hope suddenly filling him with energy. His footsteps became faster as he approached her with happy anticipation. He smiled wider. "T-Tenshi-chan!"_

_The cloaked warrior watched uncaringly as he neared. She then jumped backwards, turning around in mid-air as she descended down the cliff, jumping from one protrusion to the next. The blonde's eyes widened as he saw her fall. His heart pumped painfully as his hope was suddenly shattered. He collapsed once more and clawed his way to the edge of the cliff. Tears welled up in his eyes as he made out an outline of her form staring up at him from the bottom of the cliff through his blurry vision. The blond angrily wiped his tears before he steeled himself._

_The silver-eyed woman's eye widened as she realised what the blond boy intended to do. "Stop!"_

_Naruto flung himself off the cliff, landing painfully on the rock protrusions and rolling off them, ignoring the searing pain that shot through his body with each painful landing. He eventually hit the bottom, landing right before her feet, his back flat on the ground. His head was throbbing and it felt very painful to breath . . . but it didn't matter._

_He grinned up at her as he extended his sore arm - painfully - to grab her leg. Her silver eye narrowed suddenly before she kicked him away._

_"You idiot." She spoke angrily, no longer in that dull, even tone of hers. "You could have died. No, you should have died." She glared at the blond who didn't even yelp as his face contorted in pain from the kick. He curled his body in an instinctive response to soothe his aches. He stared up at her, grinning despite the pain tearing through his limbs._

_"I . . . caught up . . ." he coughed out through his pain. "I ca-ught . . . up . . . Ten . . . Tenshi-chan . . ."_

_"You should be dead." She looked up, eyeing the fall the blond went through. Her gaze returned to the blond, leveling him with a glare. "You are dead." She spoke suddenly, devoid of anger. _

_Naruto's blue eyes widened as the cloaked warrior scaled the cliff._

_"W-wait . . . Tenshi . . . chan!" he tried to shout out. He wasn't sure if she heard him. Or maybe she did but she just ignored his plea._

_Like everyone else did._

_His blue eyes hardened. As he pushed himself up and approached the side of the cliff, holding his side which shot painful lances through his body with each step. He braced himself against the side of the cliff before slowly pulling himself up the protrusions._

_"W-wait for-r . . . me . . . Tenshi . . ." black spots filled his vision before he shook his head, wincing at the pain that accompanied it, before willing his sight to clear. He had to stay focused; he had to stay awake and strong or else he will never be able to stay with her. "Wait for me, Tenshi-chan . . ."_

_He painfully pulled himself up_.

* * *

**A/N**: I'm sorry if you readers're getting confused with Yugito's character. I know I am.

Anyways, I was wondering, do you think it's weird to call Kumo's version of ANBU, ANBU? Or do you think I should rename them? And if so, what? I've read several fics and they usually call them BOLT, which makes me wonder if several writers called them that by coincidence or that they read a fic with that term and decided to use it . . . Kinda like writers whose stories have _Itachi addicted to pocky_; they most likely read **Never Cut Twice by shadowmaster62**. I think.

_Shinobi Cup, Golden!_

Read the above paragraph. That's all I can think of, for now.

Anyways, please review! and, tell me if there're any typos or grammatical errors. I feel i'm becoming more illiterate as time goes by. I'll blame it all on biology which requires me to write my answers as brief and concise as possible.


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